Court Funding

State Court Funding

The current funding structure for the state court system was adopted by voters in 1998 as Revision 7, amending part of Article V, Section 14 of the Florida Constitution. This revision declared that the state would be responsible for funding certain aspects of the state court system, including salaries for judges, state attorneys, public defenders, and court appointed counsel. The revision declared that counties would be responsible for court facilities, maintenance, utilities, security and certain communication services.

Less than a decade after the revision, the state budget shrank by several billion dollars and the court system, almost entirely funded with general revenue, had to cut many essential services which delayed the delivery of justice in Florida. This situation nearly shut down the courts, but the Legislature convened in January 2009 to address the crisis. Its solution was to create trust funds for the courts, state attorneys and public defenders that would create a more sustainable judicial system. The Legislature returned in the 2009 regular session and increased court filing fees, dedicated revenue to the newly created trust funds, and instituted a new business model with more oversight for the clerks of court.

In that session FAC also worked with both houses of the Legislature to give counties the authority to increase the court infrastructure fee from $15 to $30. This change would allow counties the ability to raise revenue to make much needed improvements to existing court houses or to build new court facilities, as part of their contribution to judicial funding.

Regional Conflict Counsel

Prior to the creation of the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel in 2007, the state saw expenditures escalate for court appointed counsels, which are private attorneys who serve as legal counsel for indigent defendants when the public defender has a conflict. As an effort tocurb those costs, the state sought relief through the creation of the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, or Regional Conflict Counsel. The new state office brought up a legal challenge over who, the state or the counties, would bear the financial burden of the Regional Conflict Counsel.

In June 2009, the First District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of FAC and 26 counties. The judgment delivered in Lewis v. Leon County declared that the state, not the counties, is responsible for paying for costs associated with the Regional Conflict Counsel. This appellate ruling declared that a cost shift of this measure was unconstitutional under both of Article V, Section 14, and Article VIII, Section 18(a) of the Florida Constitution. The state is currently appealing the First District Court of Appeals ruling to the Florida Supreme Court.

Problem-Solving Courts

Many counties expand court programs to serve special issues, like drug, mental health and teen courts.  In the 2009 session, more than $17 million was appropriated to expand existing drug courts in nine counties.  These stimulus dollars will provide case management services, drug treatment and testing for offenders who meet certain criteria. The courts anticipate this expansion and additional treatment dollars will divert 2,000 offenders from state prisons, saving Florida more than $100,000,000.  In the 2011 session, the Legislature expanded the program’s eligibility criteria, which should allow for more participants to enter the expansion drug courts.