Budget Cuts Could Mean Lawsuit for Perdue

The state's courts could become the latest victims of the down economy. Governor Sonny Perdue is slashing state spending by 25% this month, because tax revenues are down. This latest round of budget cuts follows those ordered earlier this year by the Governor that all state agencies slash the bottom line up to ten percent. In his most recent call for departments to dig even deeper, the Governor included the state's courts.

However, Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears questions whether the Governor has that budget authority over the judicial branch.

"There is this question of power. The issue is whether or not the executive branch and the executive can change our budget. The judicial branch of government is not a state agency. We are a third branch. And that makes it a constitutional issue."

Later this week, the 202-member Council of Superior Court Judges will decide if it will ask the Chief Judge to sue Governor Perdue over the proposed cuts. It's a step the state's top judge hopes to avoid.

"This doesn't have to be hot headed. It doesn't have to be nasty. It's just a question that we need answered."

In the meantime, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin K. Westmoreland fears if the court's are ordered to furlough employees, it would leave the state open to lawsuits from defendants, claiming violation of constitutional rights.

"It's a significant concern. We will not be able to keep the court's open and if we can't try that case because we don't have a district attorney or a public defender in front of us, than that defendant will be released."

The Governor wrote the Chief Justice, saying that after consulting with the fiscal officer of the state attorney general's office, he believes he has the power to withhold money from any state agency, including the two other branches of state government.

Bert Brantley is the Governor's spokesperson.

"There is a constitutional responsibility to balance the budget. And, then there's a statutory authority that the governor has to withhold spending from agencies in tines of sharp revenue decline. That statutory authority says that the withholding has to be equal."

Georgia and its courts, just like states and courts around the nations are all facing tough economic decisions. Including the nation's highest court. Here's US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas testifying before a joint US House Senate subcommittee on finance.

"We recognize that in these difficult times, all budgets are to be looked at in a very disciplined way and we have done that. In the years that I have appeared before you, we have always requested only what is necessary for the court's operations. And, it is no different this year."

Although the US government can roll over its budget deficit from one fiscal year to the next, Georgia is constitutionally obligated to produce a balanced budget each fiscal year.