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Judiciary requests $5 million budget for FY10
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Posted on Apr 14 2009
The CNMI Judiciary is asking the Legislature for a budget of $5.1 million for Fiscal Year 2010.
The money would fund the Supreme Court, Superior Court, Judiciary Administrative Office, and Law Revision Commission, Supreme Court chief justice Miguel S. Demapan said in the request to House Speaker Arnold Palacios and Senate President Pete Reyes.
The FY 2010 request is $1.6 million more than the Legislature appropriated for the Judicial Branch in Fiscal Year 2009, something not lost on Demapan.
“While we realize the financial difficulties under which the Commonwealth is currently operating and recognize the need for all parts of government to reduce spending levels, we also feel the need to express to you the degree to which severe budget cuts over the last few years have crippled the Judiciary’s operations,” the chief justice wrote.
Since 2007, the NMI Judiciary’s budget has been cut by approximately 20 percent, he said.
“The immediate consequence is justice delayed, with untold economic and non-economic costs to litigants and the Commonwealth as a whole,” he said.
The branch has enacted cost saving measures, including reducing the workforce through attrition from 104 full time employees in 2007 to 74 full time employees in 2009.
Earlier this year, Demapan and Superior Court presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja wrote to Palacios, Reyes and Gov. Benigno Fitial saying the first Legislature-approved 2009 budget would “cripple operations of the judicial branch.”
