Chief Justice Frank J. Williams

Fourth Annual State of the Judiciary Address

 

(This address was delivered to the Rhode Island Senate on March 2, 2005 and the House of Representatives on March 3, 2005.)

 

Building a History of Justice and a Legacy of Independence

Thank you.

 

Honorable members of the General Assembly, my esteemed colleagues from the Rhode Island Judiciary: it is an honor and a pleasure to appear before you to deliver my fourth annual State of the Judiciary.

 

In 1788, a group of men gathered in Philadelphia to build the framework for the great American experiment.  Among the delegates was Alexander Hamilton, who in Federalist Paper 78 stressed the importance of an independent judiciary.  Judges, he said, would require great fortitude to act as the faithful guardians of the courts of justice.  Hamilton understood that government would become too weak - or too strong - without an independent judiciary to interpret the laws, decide controversies, and enforce individual rights.

Through our state’s history, we have endeavored to build within this framework a judiciary which would honor, preserve, and promote what I call the last refuge of democracy. 

Now, I know not everyone agrees with my style, some say I am too visible, too vocal, too willful, too impatient.  Well, maybe they have a point . . . but this is who I am.  I have never wavered in my commitment to serve with honor or in my belief that the citizens of our state have the right to demand access to our courts and the services we provide.

We have achieved much since I was honored to take the oath of office on February 6, 2001.  These achievements were possible because of your willingness to listen and consider our priorities, and because of the hard work of my fellow judges and judicial staff. 

At that time, I said the Judiciary needed to concentrate on improving accessibility, technology, infrastructure, education, and outreach.  The state of the judiciary this year seems an appropriate time to look back over the past four years - to measure our accomplishments against those earlier goals.  A time for an accounting, a report card of sorts on what we have achieved and the challenges we still face. 

We continue to make justice accessible by responding to changes in our population.

• We have expanded mediation to the appellate level with 36% of cases successfully mediated. 
• We have instituted problem solving courts - for business litigation, troubled kids, truant students, and substance abusers.
• An instructional video, free parking, and a reduced service requirement make jury service less burdensome.
• And we have added six new Spanish speaking interpreters to help non English speaking litigants, witnesses, and court users.  

We have modernized the Judiciary’s outdated and inefficient computer system.

 

·        Do you remember when I first came to you asking for help with replacing our antiquated WANG system?  Well, thanks to you, the first court switches over to the new system this month and other courts will soon follow.  The project will be completed by January 2006.

·        Already, criminal information is available through the Internet.

·        On the topic of websites, I took some ribbing about my short lived personal site, but certainly more noteworthy is the award winning judicial website - updated in design and format, making it easier to navigate and read. 

·        The Judiciary, in concert with the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Administration, has worked to expand the use of video conferencing.  District Court is already reaping the benefits of this technology and future use should alleviate overcrowding in court cellblocks and reduce security risks and expenses incurred in transporting prisoners from the ACI. 

·        Modernizing the State Law Library will enable us to cancel some subscriptions - saving $100,000 a year.

We have made significant strides in reaching school children.

• Our K-12 legal education curriculum called Justice Rules, teams attorneys and judges with teachers and classrooms to build positive relationships with students, to encourage kids to explore careers in the Judiciary, and to teach them about the judicial system.  Justice Rules now reaches close to 50,000 school children across the state.

• Our Operation Phoenix initiative donated refurbished computers to schools in Woonsocket, Central Falls, and Pawtucket.
• Members of the judicial family donated over 1,500 books to classrooms and libraries in schools with the greatest need.
• A partnership with Providence College’s advanced language department gives students credit for evaluating French and Spanish translations on our judicial website.

We have built community relationships through an ambitious outreach program.

·        A new televised Citizens’ Summit encourages dialogue on judicial issues.  Our first program - aired on Channels 36 and 12 - invited parents, teachers, and students to discuss Truancy Court and its benefits for our children.

·        The Supreme Court continues to hold sessions in the community, traveling to the Portsmouth and Westerly High Schools this past year and sitting at Bryant University in Smithfield next month.

• For the past two years, as part of our efforts to reach the state’s fastest growing minority population, our judges have taken calls on Spanish radio.

In the past, court buildings were unfit to accommodate the demands placed upon them.  That is changing.

• With full control over all judicial buildings including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, there is a more efficient regulation of our resources.
• The new Kent County Courthouse is an architectural masterpiece.  We anticipate moving in by December of this year. 
• We are moving forward with plans for a courthouse in Northern Rhode Island.  Next year, the certificates of participation will be ready for your review and hopefully approved.
• Although the Garrahy Judicial Complex remains crowded, the staircases are now open, reducing elevator congestion.
• The schematics and elevations for a new Traffic Tribunal have already been approved and groundbreaking should be this June with expected completion in the fall of 2006.  The new facility will be located at the entrance to the John O. Pastore Government Center.

Our courts are busier than ever.  In just the last three years, our caseload has jumped 9 percent - 233,000 cases disposed of in 2004 – yet, we continue to hold our spending to only 1.3% of the state’s entire budget. 

And for the third year in a row, we will not request a supplemental budget.

Our requested Fiscal Year 2006 budget is once again frugal - we ask only for a modest increase of $900,000 to maintain current services.

This legislative session, we mark the implementation of a new budget protocol that safeguards judicial independence.  This initiative reflects true separation of powers – placing with the Legislative Branch, rather than the Executive Branch, the authority to allocate funds for the Judiciary.

Unfortunately, the Governor’s office failed to comply with the new protocol and adjusted our budget request before passing it to you - throwing our budget into a $3.2 million dollar shortfall.  We look to you to adjust this appropriately.

Motivated by our desire to draw clear lines separating the three branches of government, we are seeking to transfer some programs out of the Judiciary to the branch of government where they belong.

Simply stated, it is inappropriate for the Judiciary to continue performing some of the functions currently assigned to it.  We are asking that the administration of indigent defense, management of witness fees, oversight of the Domestic Violence Unit, and supervision of the Fugitive Task Force be transferred out of the Judicial Branch.   

This request means transferring 10 full-time positions and the accompanying funding out of the Judiciary.  I know that giving up a multi-million dollar program, 10 jobs, and control over some governmental functions may appear politically naïve.  But frankly, I do not care.  This is what is right.  This is what is honorable. And this is what the citizens deserve.

We continue to cultivate new ways to serve with justice, independence, and honor.

A planned Center for Court Innovation will promote programs to improve our courts and to build on the already strong foundations of leadership, community partnerships, efficiency, and accessibility.  

Mindful that the success of our Judiciary is measured not only by disposition rates but also in real human terms, we are exploring ways to serve effectively and efficiently with compassion.

Among the initiatives being considered - a statewide, integrated Domestic Violence Court.

In Family Court, where the judicial tasks are often heartbreaking, we are seeking to appoint two new mediators to handle issues involving child custody and termination of parental rights.  Children should never be held hostage by prolonged and hostile litigation.

We will be building on the success of our court interpreter program by requesting two new interpreters – one who speaks Portuguese and Cape Verdean and one who can communicate with members of Rhode Island’s growing Southeast Asian community.

We are continuing to implement new programs which take advantage of new technology.  Computer links between the Judiciary and the law enforcement community will allow victims to access information about their cases.

In the near future, your constituents will be able to watch gavel-to-gavel coverage of high profile trials from their living rooms.  School students can witness trials in their entirety instead of in ten second sound bites.  

Drawing on our Judiciary’s rich past, we are creating a Judicial Living History exhibit.  This traveling exhibit will feature:

• original handwritten documents from cases involving Native Americans and the original settlers,
• the 1718 coroner’s inquest into the state’s first malpractice case, and
• the 1845 execution papers for the last prisoner hanged in Rhode Island.

Without question, we are grateful for the support that we have received from the General Assembly in the past, and we are certainly mindful of the fiscal constraints under which the state operates.  We also know that the state benefit package is overdue for adjustment, and of course members of the Judiciary should expect to contribute to healthcare insurance premiums along with other state workers.

It is also time to look at salary adjustments for members of the Judiciary.  This marks the third straight year without even a cost of living increase.  The gulf that separates judicial pay from compensation in the private sector grows larger and larger.  When adjusted for economic conditions, Rhode Island jurists are among the lowest paid in the nation - 43^rd. 

With the anticipated abolishment of the Unclassified Pay Plan Board, we created the Judicial Wage Review Committee to examine the issues surrounding judicial compensation.  Justice Francis X. Flaherty chairs this committee which is made up of a cross-section of prominent Rhode Island citizens.  I expect to receive its recommendations shortly. 

I began this speech with a historical note, recognizing the continuum of our judicial system and the relatively small amount of time during which it is entrusted to us.  Whether we can accomplish what we have undertaken depends on the ongoing collaboration among our three branches of government and the support of the public we serve.

Many of you accepted the invitation to our first Legislative Law Day and witnessed firsthand the work we do in the Judiciary.  From video conferencing in Superior Court, heartbreaking juvenile cases in Family Court, arraignments in District Court, trials in Workers’ Compensation Court, and even a brief tour of the cell block, you saw the challenges we face every day in our court system.

 

We intend to offer this opportunity bi-annually.  Only by keeping the lines of communication open, can we hope to achieve a better understanding of our joint mission to serve the citizens of our state.

Brick by brick, program by program, person by person, the Rhode Island Judiciary is building a history of justice and a legacy of independence.  And we continue to bridge our accomplishments of the past with honorable service to Rhode Island’s future.

As John Quincy Adams said,  “Standing at this point of time, looking back to that generation which has gone by and forward to that which is advancing, we may at once indulge in grateful exultation and in cheering hope.  From the experience of the past we derive instructive lessons for the future.”

Thank you for this opportunity to address you.  I look forward to working with you in the future.  May God bless you and the State of Rhode Island.