Trial Lawyers Section to work for court funding.

Trial lawyers know firsthand just how disruptive the judiciary's current budget crisis has been, and how badly things are likely to get, should the funding be cut again. Trials are expensive during any economic climate. With every court in the state struggling to work with fewer dollars and staff, they're becoming even harder to come by.

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Frank Bedell is chair of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar, and while it can be hard for the uninitiated to see the effects of budget cuts to the court system just yet, he's starting to see the evidence. The section has worked hard in the past to educate legislators on the importance of funding the judiciary, and counts this as one of its most important initiatives going forward, because "it has a direct impact on the ability of courts to effectively administer justice."

"It's had an effect on our section, on our clients--on everybody in the state of Florida. If cases aren't moving as quickly, you have mothers looking for child support who can't get it; you have fathers looking for visitation rights who can't get them; banks can't foreclose on loans; tenants can't defend themselves; landlords can't evict them...."

The grandson of famous Florida litigator Chester Bedell, Frank Bedell recounted watching the judiciary budget crisis "evolve from a very real but somewhat abstract concept of what it would mean, to budget cuts being put into place, and seeing how the courthouses are having to react and how that filters down to the parties themselves. A slowdown in the court system affects everyone, not just litigators. It has direct impact on the people on the ground. It affects our clients and their rights."

Bob Palmer, immediate past section chair, had the same point to make. "The court budget is already such a small percentage of the state budget, and has been cut twice last year," Palmer said. "And as a result, what's happening is it's taking longer to get a hearing, in part because you've got judges stretched too thin, having to spend time on programs that, in the past, were fully staffed."

Palmer and executive committee member Tim Sullivan echoed Bedell's assertion that educating legislators and helping to protect...