Why are so many Ninth Judicial Circuit judges leaving? OS

by Verogal Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:53 am

OP comments...great article but distressing imo
snipped

By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel

November 7, 2011
Eight veteran judges serving in the Ninth Judicial Circuit have announced their departures from the local bench during the past 18 months.

The most recent — and newsy — resignation came from Judge Stan Strickland, the popular jurist who gained national attention from his early handling of the Casey Anthony case.

snipped from long article

But Chief Judge Belvin Perry attributes the departures, at least in part, to increasing caseloads, dwindling court resources, lack of judicial pay raises for several years and statewide policies that have effectively reduced take-home pay for judges.
"You've seen people gradually grow weary," Perry said. "They burn out and see no end in sight."

and
"My concern is that when you lose people like that — that have had a great deal of experience — you lose a lot," Perry said. "You just cannot beat experience, particularly when you start losing a lot of it within a span of two years."

Circuitwide, judges faced an avalanche of 6,848 pending felony criminal cases, according to the circuit statistics Perry reviewed one day late last month.

Perry said the current economic conditions will likely make systemic fixes such as new judicial appointments or judicial raises difficult to come by.

"The salary that a judge makes is a great deal of money to a large segment of our population, particularly if you are unemployed," Perry said. "We understand the economic conditions."

But, he added: "It's something that's going to have to be addressed when the economy turns around."

"We'll always have people apply for the job," Perry said. "The question is: Who will those people be in the future?"

Perry also fears a "perfect storm" in which an avalanche of cases with speedy-trial issues could force many to be discharged because the system could not possibly handle so many trials at one time. Only a small percentage of overall criminal cases are disposed of at trial.

read in full story at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-judges-resigning-20111107,0,745213.story