Gavel Grab

Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III, the new president of the American Bar Association, says the nation’s entire justice system is jeopardized by funding cuts, and the ABA must lead the fight for adequate resources.

“The ongoing economic crisis has resulted in additional cuts in funding for our already underfunded state courts. This threatens the very viability of our entire justice system in America and puts at risk the third co-equal branch of government,” Robinson (photo at left) said at the ABA annual meeting in Toronto, according to an ABA Journal article.

“Everyone agrees that corrective funding is urgently needed in every state in this country,” he added. “The ABA, with our national scope and proven expertise, must lead the way.”

Lawyer Stephen Zack, who has just stepped down as ABA president, voiced similar concerns in a commentary published by the Miami Herald, entitled “Our justice system has been cut to the bone.” Zack explained:

“There’s a fundamental problem today that threatens the courts at every level. Our judiciary is viewed as simply another line item in the budget rather than the third, co-equal branch of government charged by the Constitution with protecting our freedoms. 

“Our courts are not like another road project, or government agency. They are the foundation of our freedom. They are the protectors of the basic promise made by our Founders that we all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those are promises worth protecting, and adequately funding.”

The courtroom delays, closures, service cuts and judicial vacancies that have resulted from court funding cuts threaten every individual’s ability to seek redress in court, he said. “It returns us to a time when we were forced to live by the rule of the jungle and not the rule of law,” Zack warned.

He also zeroed in on expanding requests for assistance from Legal Services Corporation funds, coming at a time the House of Representatives is weighing eliminating one-fourth of the LSC budget.

Zack concluded, “[O]n on the issue of protecting our fundamental liberties, freedoms, rights and values by protecting our courts and legal aid, there should — and must — be complete support.” The ABA is a Justice at Stake partner.