[h=3]By JESS BRAVIN[/h] WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledging the "fiscal cliff," avoided lobbying for a judicial pay raise in his annual report on the U.S. court system but sought to defend the courts against future cutbacks.
The chief justice met his deadline for issuing the report even as Congress was locked in last-minute negotiations to prevent higher tax rates from taking effect across the board in the new year.
In prior years, Chief Justice Roberts has used his Year-End Report, the closest he comes to a State of the Union address, to advocate higher pay for federal judges. That sometimes drew criticism because federal judges, while earning considerably less than partners at big-city law firms, remain among the best-paid civil servants and enjoy lifetime job security.
This year, the chief justice explicitly acknowledged "the much publicized 'fiscal cliff'" consuming the executive and legislative branches, as well as "the longer term problem of a truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt." Rather than seek a bigger slice of the pie, the chief justice, who serves as administrative head of the federal judiciary in addition to presiding over the Supreme Court, argued that the judicial system already offers Americans good value and doesn't deserve to be cut.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said the "report is short on specifics" about the budget cuts facing the courts if Congress doesn't act to forestall a package of spending cuts set to take effect in the New Year.
"I remain concerned that the courts do not have a robust plan to deal with what may be just around the corner," Mr. Grassley said. "A transparent plan of action will help give the public confidence that the federal judiciary will be open and able to function for the American people."
The entire federal judicial branch, from probation officers to Supreme Court justices, consumes "a minuscule portion of the federal budget," Chief Justice Roberts wrote: $6.97 billion out of $3.7 trillion. "Those fractions of a penny are what Americans pay for a Judiciary that is second to none," he wrote.
The judiciary has been economizing on rent, the report says, by consolidating offices for judicial personnel in courthouses rather than leasing overflow space and by shifting to digital library collections. Other measures under consideration include sharing staff and resources between the separate trial and bankruptcy court systems within some judicial districts.
"Because the Judiciary has already pursued cost-containment so aggressively, it will become increasingly difficult to economize further without reducing the quality of judicial services," the chief justice wrote.
Four paragraphs were devoted to the exploits of the USS Constitution, launched in 1797 and the oldest commissioned vessel still afloat. The chief justice, a history buff, saw it as a metaphor for the nation's own durability. He was silent regarding criticism from Senate Republicans over what they consider excesses in the present-day judiciary's travel and entertainment expenses.
Last summer, Mr. Grassley and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) lambasted judicial spending after learning the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals planned to go to Hawaii for its annual conference.
The senators said the conference, which gathers judges, attorneys and support personnel from throughout the nine-state circuit, would cost taxpayers more than $1 million. The San Francisco-based circuit's chief judge, Alex Kozinski, defended the conference as providing "an exceptional educational opportunity" for legal practitioners that followed federal travel guidelines.
In November, Mr. Grassley followed up with a letter to the Judicial Conference, the administrative arm of the courts headed by Chief Justice Roberts. In it, he complained about "the significant amount of court funding spent on non-case related travel," and cited several examples he said appeared unjustified, including $25,000 for "an employee spa weekend" by the federal public defender's office for the Sacramento, Calif.-based Eastern District of California.
"If spending on items of this nature were curtailed, the savings could go a long way," Mr. Grassley wrote.
The secretary of the Judicial Conference, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, replied that "travel is of course one area of consideration for cost reduction, including funding for circuit judicial conferences."
Chief Justice Roberts's report also summarized the federal judiciary's workload over 2012. While civil appeals fell by 1%, criminal appeals grew 12%. Student loan default cases fell, as did filings for immigration violations. Business bankruptcy filings fell 14%, and nonbusiness bankruptcy filings dropped 16%, he reported.
Write to Jess Bravin at [email protected]
The chief justice met his deadline for issuing the report even as Congress was locked in last-minute negotiations to prevent higher tax rates from taking effect across the board in the new year.
In prior years, Chief Justice Roberts has used his Year-End Report, the closest he comes to a State of the Union address, to advocate higher pay for federal judges. That sometimes drew criticism because federal judges, while earning considerably less than partners at big-city law firms, remain among the best-paid civil servants and enjoy lifetime job security.
This year, the chief justice explicitly acknowledged "the much publicized 'fiscal cliff'" consuming the executive and legislative branches, as well as "the longer term problem of a truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt." Rather than seek a bigger slice of the pie, the chief justice, who serves as administrative head of the federal judiciary in addition to presiding over the Supreme Court, argued that the judicial system already offers Americans good value and doesn't deserve to be cut.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said the "report is short on specifics" about the budget cuts facing the courts if Congress doesn't act to forestall a package of spending cuts set to take effect in the New Year.
"I remain concerned that the courts do not have a robust plan to deal with what may be just around the corner," Mr. Grassley said. "A transparent plan of action will help give the public confidence that the federal judiciary will be open and able to function for the American people."
The entire federal judicial branch, from probation officers to Supreme Court justices, consumes "a minuscule portion of the federal budget," Chief Justice Roberts wrote: $6.97 billion out of $3.7 trillion. "Those fractions of a penny are what Americans pay for a Judiciary that is second to none," he wrote.
The judiciary has been economizing on rent, the report says, by consolidating offices for judicial personnel in courthouses rather than leasing overflow space and by shifting to digital library collections. Other measures under consideration include sharing staff and resources between the separate trial and bankruptcy court systems within some judicial districts.
"Because the Judiciary has already pursued cost-containment so aggressively, it will become increasingly difficult to economize further without reducing the quality of judicial services," the chief justice wrote.
Four paragraphs were devoted to the exploits of the USS Constitution, launched in 1797 and the oldest commissioned vessel still afloat. The chief justice, a history buff, saw it as a metaphor for the nation's own durability. He was silent regarding criticism from Senate Republicans over what they consider excesses in the present-day judiciary's travel and entertainment expenses.
Last summer, Mr. Grassley and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) lambasted judicial spending after learning the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals planned to go to Hawaii for its annual conference.
The senators said the conference, which gathers judges, attorneys and support personnel from throughout the nine-state circuit, would cost taxpayers more than $1 million. The San Francisco-based circuit's chief judge, Alex Kozinski, defended the conference as providing "an exceptional educational opportunity" for legal practitioners that followed federal travel guidelines.
In November, Mr. Grassley followed up with a letter to the Judicial Conference, the administrative arm of the courts headed by Chief Justice Roberts. In it, he complained about "the significant amount of court funding spent on non-case related travel," and cited several examples he said appeared unjustified, including $25,000 for "an employee spa weekend" by the federal public defender's office for the Sacramento, Calif.-based Eastern District of California.
"If spending on items of this nature were curtailed, the savings could go a long way," Mr. Grassley wrote.
The secretary of the Judicial Conference, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, replied that "travel is of course one area of consideration for cost reduction, including funding for circuit judicial conferences."
Chief Justice Roberts's report also summarized the federal judiciary's workload over 2012. While civil appeals fell by 1%, criminal appeals grew 12%. Student loan default cases fell, as did filings for immigration violations. Business bankruptcy filings fell 14%, and nonbusiness bankruptcy filings dropped 16%, he reported.
Write to Jess Bravin at [email protected]