When there are impediments preventing prompt access to justice for businesses and individuals, quality of life is compromised. A shared concern of both the legal and business communities is overcoming the barriers that currently prevent timely access to courts and speedy disposition of lawsuits.
Beyond quality of life, access to justice also affects community safety, business profitability and employee productivity.
Individuals accused of crimes have constitutional rights that must be protected. If the accused is denied a speedy trial, they will go free, whether they are guilty or innocent. Missouri's public defender system has been plagued by inadequate funding for several years and to compound matters, it was recently placed under a hiring freeze. Members of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association have stepped forward to volunteer to take certain cases; however it is a small, temporary resolution to a large problem.
Missouri ranks last in the nation on per-capita funding for public defenders. The business community could advocate to the state legislature to change that.
In a depressed economy, businesses may need increased access to courts on such matters as enforcing contracts, collecting accounts receivable and evictions.
In 2007, the National Center for State Courts conducted a weighted workload study of Missouri trial courts in an effort to develop a true picture of the needs for allocation of judicial resources statewide. That study found that the workload in Greene County warranted seven additional judges.
For the last four years, state legislators have worked diligently to secure two additional judges for Greene County. So far, they have not been successful. This year, the efforts have been fortified by inclusion of additional judges as a priority on the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce's legislative agenda.
A large portion of cases pending in Greene County courts involve domestic issues. When employees face a divorce, child custody or support modification, it is difficult to focus on work. If it takes a year to get the case through the system, families suffer, and so does productivity.
Access to justice affects quality of life. The leaders of the business community and legal profession have a shared interest in insuring that our courts function well.[[In-content Ad]]
Crista Hogan is executive director of the 800-member Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and its foundation. She may be reached at smba@pcis.net.
