Vol. 36, Number 10—October 2004

Conference Adopts Cost-Containment Plan in Wake of Limited Congressional Funding; Continues Push for Court Funds

The Judicial Conference has agreed to implement a number of sweeping cost-containment measures, including a two-year moratorium on 42 federal courthouse construction projects.

Judiciary leaders also continue to work vigorously to secure necessary funding from Congress to maintain vital court programs, operations, and staff.

The Conference's action was prompted by funding shortfalls in recent years, because overall federal deficits may continue into fiscal year 2006 and beyond. In addition, growth in rent, pay, drug testing and treatment, the number of offenders, and caseload is expected to increase at a higher rate than future appropriations. The Conference action is part of a two-pronged strategy. First, in an effort to avoid further staff cutbacks, judges throughout the country, with the assistance of the Administrative Office, have been educating their local congressional delegations about the anticipated impact of lower-than-needed funding levels. The second step is the list of long- and short-term measures designed to limit the rate at which costs are growing in order to reduce the gap between expenses and anticipated appropriations.

The federal courts' total costs are driven primarily by the number of cases filed, the number of judges and staff needed to adjudicate those cases, and the courtrooms and office space needed to house them. These personnel and space costs represent 84 percent of the Salaries and Expenses account that funds court operations, including rent for facilities, salaries for personnel, and drug testing and treatment programs under the auspices of probation and pretrial services.

Rent Increases
For court facilities, the Judiciary currently pays the General Services Administration about $900 million in rent, which represents 22 percent of the Judiciary's budget. It is anticipated that if current space growth continues, rent will increase about 6-8 percent a year, totaling $1.2 billion by FY 2009, which would amount to 25 percent of that year's total budget.

To help reduce the rate of growth in rental expenses in future years, the Judicial Conference approved a courthouse construction moratorium for 24 months on the planning, authorizing, and budgeting for new courthouse construction projects. Forty-two courthouse projects that are currently on the Judicial Conference's five-year courthouse project plan will be delayed while the Judiciary re-evaluates how courts can satisfy their space needs with minimal costs in the current constrained budgetary environment. Design of the remaining 11 projects on the five-year plan will continue. It is uncertain when construction funding will be sought for these projects. Securing full funding for the four additional projects designated as judicial space emergencies (Los Angeles, California; El Paso, Texas; San Diego, California; and Las Cruces, New Mexico) will continue to remain an urgent priority for the Judicial Conference. A complete listing of the affected courthouse projects is on our website at www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/moratoriumlist.04.jcus.pdf

Cost-containment Measures
In the area of Judiciary staffing needs, the primary influence is workload. Between 2004 and 2009, criminal filings are projected to rise by 8 percent, the number of persons under supervision is projected to rise 12 percent, and the number of Criminal Justice Act representations is projected to increase by 34 percent. In order to control the future growth in staff, the Conference approved steps to re-engineer work processes, reorganize functions to increase efficiency, and employ updated staffing formulas. The expansion of the new electronic case file systems in the courts is expected to allow for greater efficiency in case administration practices.

The Executive Committee has spent the past six months soliciting cost-containment ideas from throughout the Judiciary and reviewing spending patterns. The Committee, through its chair Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King (5th Cir.), wrote to 10 different Judicial Conference committees, urging them to examine specific policy, fiscal, operational, and procedural issues that affect the Judiciary's budget. This broad and intensive review yielded distinct and interrelated potential avenues for cost-containment. In addition to space and facilities and workforce efficiency, the areas are:

• Compensation Review: The Conference agreed to explore fair and reasonable opportunities to limit future compensation costs.


• Effective Use of Technology: The Conference agreed to target its technology investments to enhance productivity and service, while controlling operating costs by revamping the service-delivery model for national information technology systems.


• Program Modifications in Defender Services, Court Security, and Law Enforcement: The Conference will study and implement cost-effective modifications to these programs.


• Fees: The Conference agreed to examine court fees regularly and when necessary adjust them to reflect economic changes.

The various cost-containment measures approved by the Conference are intended to serve as a road map. Short- and long-term strategies to save money will continue to be discussed and studied.