Suburban and Rural Courts: Their Perspective How Do We Fairly Allocate Court Resources?

Court Leader's Advantage

December 19th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode

The struggle to equitably and effectively allocate court resources is a challenge that faces every state. Everywhere the question is the same: how do you allocate funds fairly to courts of different sizes and may even perform different operations such as having a Treatment Court? How do you not disadvantage suburban and rural courts when taking into account the size of each court, its caseload, the demand for service, the degree of innovation, the staffing needs of justice partners like the prosecutor, the public defender, probation, and law enforcement, allocation history, and special circumstances?

Additionally, many court budget staffing discussions are not held on a statewide level, they are local discussions where a court might find itself competing with the police, sanitation, or parks and recreation. What do these courts use to convince funding bodies to provide new resources? Add to the mix the specter that some funding bodies (often cities) place their own agenda on courts to be revenue generators. Is the answer a preset formula that with each new judicial position comes a designated number of additional staff? Is there another, possibly a better methodology? This month we’re going to explore the struggle that suburban and rural courts endure in the competition for new budget resources.

Here to discuss this issue are

Angie VanSchoick: Town Clerk and Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in the town of Silverthorne, Colorado

Stacey Fields: Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in Crestwood, Missouri

Danielle Trujillo: Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in the City of Littleton, Colorado, and

Frank Maiocco: Court Administrator for the Superior Court in Kitsap County, Washington