News Item
Chief Justice Gildea’s statement on Governor Walz’s budget proposal
Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Earlier today, Gov. Tim Walz announced his FY24-25 biennial budget recommendations. As part of those recommendations, Gov. Walz recommended full funding of the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s biennial budget request.
This funding, if approved by the Legislature, would address significant workforce challenges in the Judicial Branch that are resulting in delayed court hearings and slower case processing. The funding would also help the Judicial Branch reduce the pandemic backlog of felony and gross misdemeanor cases in the state’s district courts, modernize court technology to support the continued use of remote (online) court hearings, address the rising cost of providing mandated psychological services, and sustain four treatment courts that will soon run out of federal grant funding, among other priorities.
Full details of the Governor’s funding recommendations for the Minnesota Judicial Branch are available here:
In response to the Governor’s announcement, Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea issued the following statement:
“The Minnesota Judicial Branch is grateful to Gov. Walz for his continued support of our judiciary, and his commitment to ensuring a strong, independent, and adequately funded court system.
The Governor’s budget recommendations will ensure Minnesota’s courts can continue to deliver timely and effective access to justice, eliminate a significant backlog of criminal cases resulting from the pandemic, and expand access to justice through remote hearings and other technological innovation.
Our courts are one of the first promises of Minnesota’s Constitution, and are essential to our democracy, preserving the rule of law, and protecting public safety. We thank Gov. Walz for recognizing the importance of the courts in his budget recommendations, and urge the Legislature to fully fund our state’s justice system during this Legislative Session.”