By Bob Ewegen
THE justice system in Colorado faces a crisis of waning public confidence coupled with mounting workloads and diminishing resources, Michael Bender, chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, told 200 citizens at the Colorado Judicial Institutes recent sixth annual membership breakfast at the Denver Athletic Club.
But attorneys, legislators and judges are committed to improving the justice system despite the difficulties, the states top jurist added.
The Colorado Judicial Institute is a private, nonpartisan citizen organization dedicated to preserving fair and impartial courts in Colorado while fostering excellence in the states judiciary and furthering public understanding of the legal system.
As a group, we [the legal profession] are not adequately serving the community, the chief justice said. In 56% of our civil cases, at least one party is not represented by a lawyer. In domestic relations cases, 70% of the cases have at least one pro se party.
Pro se is a legal term for citizens handling their own cases without an attorney.
The system also faces crushing workloads, Chief Justice Bender noted, with about 750,000 cases filed each year. Thats equal to all the cases filed in the federal system nationwide each year, he said.
The continued growth in cases has collided with cuts in personnel and other resources forced by Colorados fiscal crisis, Bender said.
The result is that very few cases actually come to trial.
In civil cases, about 99% are settled out of court. Even in criminal cases, only two or three percent actually come to trial, he said.
Bender quoted the late US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as saying: We must never forget that the only real source of power that we as judges can tap is the respect of the people.
Yet, the legal profession whether in law schools, the professional bar or the judiciary itself falls short of that lofty standard, the chief justice said. Some polls indicate that as much as 75% of the public lacks trust in the judicial decision-making process.
Yet, when people are asked a similar question from a different perspective, 60% of the public has at least some confidence that the judiciary is doing its job.
The chief justice noted that the key to understanding those mixed reviews is this: All polls show government in disfavor. The last poll I saw of Congress showed a 9% approval rating. There is a danger of a spillover of negative anti-government feeling to the judiciary and the legal system in general.
DESPITE bearing such bad tidings, Bender was cheerful and upbeat in his presentation to the CJI members and guests. Being chief justice entitles one to choose his own agenda, the jurist noted, and I choose to focus on the good things that are happening.
For the first time in years, the judiciary received its full budget request from the legislature, adding two new judges, support staff and training and hardware for the courts expanding on-line activity that will culminate soon in its own online filing system for civil cases.
Even with this years modest increase, the judiciary will take only 3.4% of the state budget, Bender noted.
The chief justice expressed special pride in the expanded efforts to serve needy veterans by the Colorado bar.
Thirty percent of the folks you see on the street are veterans. They have a host of legal problems.
We now have pro se centers in Adams, Denver and El Paso counties to help citizens who cant afford an attorney. We have 66 problem-solving courts and are adding nine more.
Were increasing mentoring programs for young lawyers.
Bob Ewegen is CJI journalist in residence and a member of the CJI board. He retired after more than 36 years at The Denver Post in 2008 and is now director of communications and research at the law office of Ellis, Wright and Ewegen.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
