Justice Roberts Call for End to Court Funding Cuts

Justice Roberts Call for End to Court Funding Cuts

Tuesday, 31 Dec 2013 06:14 PM

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Supreme-Court-Annual/2013/12/31/id/544633

Congress and the White House need to restore funding to the nation's federal courts to keep from undermining "the public's confidence in all three branches of government," Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday in his year-end report.

Roberts has made similar calls for more money in the past. "I would like to choose a fresher topic, but duty calls. The budget remains the single most important issue facing the courts," he said.

The courts have been severely impacted by government cost-cutting, Roberts said.

"The combined effects since July 2011 of flat budgets followed by sequestration reduced on-board court staffing levels by 3,100 (14 percent) to about 19,000 employees — the lowest staffing level since 1997, despite significant workload increases over that same period — and reduced federal defender offices staffing by 11 percent in fiscal year 2013 alone," he said.

What would happen if the sequestration cuts continue? If Congress instead freezes court funding at sequester level, it "would lead to the loss of an estimated additional 1,000 court staff," Roberts said. "The first consequence would be greater delays in resolving civil and criminal cases. In the civil and bankruptcy venues, further consequences would include commercial uncertainty, lost opportunities and unvindicated rights. In the criminal venues, those consequences pose a genuine threat to public safety."

Court officials are calling for $7.04 billion for fiscal year 2014, which they calculate at less than two-tenths of 1 percent of total federal outlays.

"In the coming weeks, and into the future, I encourage the president and Congress to be attentive to the needs of the judicial branch and avert the adverse consequences that would result from funding the judiciary below its minimal needs," Roberts said.

"The judiciary continues to depend on the vision and statesmanship of our colleagues in the executive and legislative departments. It takes no imagination to see that failing to meet the judiciary's essential requirements undermines the public's confidence in all three branches of government."

The judiciary system also is working to save money by ensuring any new space requested by a judicial circuit is offset by an equivalent reduction in the same fiscal year. The courts also are looking to reduce their overall space by 3 percent by the end of fiscal 2018.

"The only exceptions from these policies are new courthouses and repair and alterations projects specifically approved by Congress," Roberts said.

John Roberts

John G. Roberts Jr. is the chief justice for the U.S. Supreme Court, an honorary member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), and the chancellor for the Smithsonian Institution.

Note: Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is the president emeritus for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was the president for the Economic Club of Washington, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

David M. Rubenstein is the president for the Economic Club of Washington, a regent for the Smithsonian Institution, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Shirley Ann Jackson is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is a regent for the Smithsonian Institution, and the vice president for the Barack Obama administration.

John W. McCarter Jr. is a regent for the Smithsonian Institution, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the SVP for Booz Allen Hamilton.

Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

Edward Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA), and an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Walter E. Massey is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.

Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.

CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.

Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.

Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Alan G. Spoon is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.

Shirley Ann Jackson is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/commercial-club-of-chicago-members.html

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), the president emeritus for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

John G. Roberts Jr. is an honorary member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (Gainesville, VA), the chancellor for the Smithsonian Institution, and the chief justice for the U.S. Supreme Court.