**************** INTRODUCTION. distinguished Senators of the 27th Legislature present, Staff and Guests, Good morning.

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1 OPENING STATEMENT THE HONORABLE RHYS S. HODGE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BEFORE THE FINANCE COMMITTEE TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE AUGUST 5, 2008 **************** INTRODUCTION Mr. Chairman, Terrence Positive Nelson, Members of the Committee on Finance, distinguished Senators of the 27th Legislature present, Staff and Guests, Good morning. On behalf of the Justices and staff of the Supreme Court, I thank you for the opportunity to appear before you and present the 2009 budget request for the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands and the Judicial Council of the Virgin Islands. I am privileged to have with me today, Justice Maria M. Cabret, Justice Ive A. Swan, Administrative Director of the Supreme Court and Acting Clerk of the Court, Attorney Glenda L. Lake, and the Clerk of the District Court, Mr. Wilfredo Morales, appearing in support of the request made by the Judicial Council. JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS Pursuant to the Title 4 V.I. Code Ann. 211, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court serves as the Chairman of the Judicial Council of the Virgin Islands, which is composed of the three (3) justices of the Supreme Court, the Presiding Judge and another judge of the Superior Court - designated by the Governor, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Legislature, the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands, the Chief Public 1

2 Defender of the Virgin Islands, the President and President-Elect of the Virgin Islands Bar Association, and the Executive Director of Legal Services of the Virgin Islands. In addition, the Chief Judge of the District Court and the Clerk of the District Court routinely participate in its meetings. The purpose of the Council is to survey the condition of business in the courts and tender recommendations to improve court processes. Generally, the Judicial Council meets quarterly and has met three (3) times during the past calendar year, and met most recently on May 30, During these meetings, the Council receives reports from each member entity represented on the Council, discuss current issues in the judiciary and the justice system, and suggest solutions to issues presented. Where appropriate, motions and resolutions are voted on, proposing recommendations to improve court processes and the justice system. Secondly, the Judicial Council facilitates the work of the Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands and funds the costs of ensuring that the libraries remain available to the community. As you are aware, when the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction on January 29, 2007, the Appellate Division of the District Court retained jurisdiction of all appeal cases that were already filed. Accordingly, the Appellate Division held six sittings in calendar year 2007 to work on the backlog of that caseload, with six (6) sittings scheduled for the current calendar year. It is expected that the Appellate Division will take approximately five (5) more years to fully resolve the current caseload. To continue to facilitate the work of the Appellate Division and the Judicial Council s operations for fiscal year 2009, the Judicial Council has submitted a budget request in the amount of Three Hundred Twenty-six Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-three Dollars ($326,993.00). The budget request is only 8% above the previous year s appropriation of Three 2

3 Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00). The increase represents normal increases in salary to those employed by the Council, the cost to employ 2 records clerks, and increase costs for a court reporter. While the Council remains cognizant of the territory s financial restraints, the work of the Appellate Division must continue unabated with the assistance of the Judicial Council if the litigants are to acquire the justice which they seek. SUPREME COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS The Virgin Islands judiciary has been in a state of transition for the past year. Following the enactment of Act No in October of 2007, the Supreme Court has been working to establish its own administrative operations, independent of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. At this juncture, I would like to thank the Presiding Judge and senior executive staff of the Superior Court, who have continued to cooperate with the Supreme Court to ensure that its operations remained uninterrupted during the time of transition. In so doing, the Superior Court facilitated our accounting and payroll operations until March 2008, currently collects and transmits collections for filing fees in appellate matters, provides courtroom space to facilitate oral arguments and has maintained the assignment of a marshal to each justice. Moreover, the employees of both the Supreme Court and the Superior Court have contributed immensely to the success of the Supreme Court thus far and they all have my gratitude. With respect to performance, the Supreme has been working steadily to positively impact the administration of justice within the territory by providing prompt adjudication of all appeals from judgments of the Superior Court in accordance with its statutory mandate. 3

4 Clerk s Office The Clerk s Office of the Supremee Court of the Virgin Islands was established on January 29, 2007, and accepted its first case on that date. The work of the Court has continued unabated ever since. When I appeared before this body last year, I conveyed that the Clerk s Office would shortly hire its first core of personnel during the first quarter of fiscal year The Court commenced this process by hiring its first deputy clerks, one on each island, in September, 2007 and October 2007, respectively. Those clerks, under the guidance of the Clerk of the Court have greatly assisted the justices in handling the caseload for calendar year 2007 as shown in the table and graph below: Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands Statistical Analysis 1/29/07 12/31/ No. of Cases Civil Filed 76 Terminated 31 Pending 45 Criminal Writs TOTAL

5 These figures demonstrate that, the Supreme Court has been steadily working to hear and determine the appeals once the briefs have been filed and the cases become ready for consideration. Indeed, despite the pending figure indicated above, many of those pending matters are only now becoming ready for hearing and disposition. In addition to the workload expressed above, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in 17 cases in 2007 and in 13 cases in this calendar year. Further, 12 opinions and substantive judgments were issued in calendar 2007, while 27 opinions and substantive judgments were issued in calendar year 2008 to date. Moreover, the Court promptly convened and addressed 9 emergency matters in calendar year 2007 and one emergency matter in Additionally, a significant amount of the Court s resources and the justices time is consumed with the Court s motion practice. The Court has reviewed and decided 80 motions in 2007, with 108 orders being issued on the Courts own initiative. The Supreme Court must, at this juncture, thank the judges of the Superior Court and the retired and Senior Sitting Judges of both the District Court and the Superior Court who have assisted as Designated Justices Pro Tem, hearing matters from which one (1) or more Supreme Court justices have been recused or disqualified. To date, there have been 35 recusals and thanks to the tireless efforts of our judicial family, these recusals have not created any delays or hardships on the administration of justice. Office of Bar Admissions Pursuant to 4 V.I. Code Ann. 32(e) and 34, the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands has exclusive authority over the Virgin Islands Bar and regulates admissions to, and suspensions, disbarments, and resignations from the Bar. Accordingly, the Court, through the Committee of Bar Examiners and Office of Bar Admissions conducted bar examinations twice yearly in 5

6 February and July and admittedd 13 new attorneys to the bar in calendar year 2007 and 22 attorneys to date for calendar year Additionally, the Court admitted 7 special admissions for governmental attorneys and 12 pro hac vice admissions during the last calendar year. Moreover, during calendar years 2007, 153 bar governance matters were filed in the Supreme Court, with 77 of those being transferred from the Superiorr Court of the Virgin Islands. Of that sum, 55 matters were resolved, with 98 matters remaining pending at the close of the year. Those pending bar matters are not matters which require further action by the Court. Of the matters resolved, one (1) attorney was initially suspended in calendar year 2007, which ultimately resulted in disbarment. Moreover, for calendar year 2008 to date, the Court has also suspended one (1) attorney, denied two (2) petitions for bar admissions, and denied one (1) applicant s petition to sit the Virgin Islands Bar Exam. The work of the Office of Bar Admissions may be summarized below: Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands Bar Governance Annual Statistics 1/29/07-12/31/ No. of Cases Filed Term Pending 55 STT & STX

7 Administrative Office The Supreme Court adopted Rule 101, which established the Administrative Office of the Courts on July 25, The implementation of that rule was delayed pending the determination of the direction of the judiciary which was dictated by the passage of Act No In February of 2008, the Supreme Court began in earnest to establish its own administrative processes, hiring an Administrative Director on February 1, Since that time, the Administrative Director has worked to transition the accounting and payroll processes from the Accounting Division of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, achieving that goal completely as of April 1, Communication and cooperation remains ongoing with the Superior Court to sort out any other lingering issues and to effectively manage the remaining funds appropriated pursuant to Act No In addition, the Administrative Office has made substantial progress in drafting the policies of the Court. The Supreme Court Procurement Manual as well as an Acceptable Technology Use Policy has been adopted. In addition, the draft of the Supreme Court Personnel Manual has been completed and circulated to Court staff for comment. Personnel Last year when the Supreme Court appeared before this Committee, it employed only 13 individuals, limited to the area of the judicial chambers of the three justices, bar admissions and one employee in the clerk s office. Most of the employees were doing double duty, i.e. working as both a judicial secretary and deputy clerk, while the Court established its operations. Additionally, the Court did not employ any administrative personnel, instead relying on the administrative structure that was already in place at the Superior Court. The Court requested a 7

8 budget sum of $7,312,317 for the 2008 fiscal year to, among other things, fund the full complement of 41 required employees. That budget sum assumed that all administrative matters would be performed by a central administration staff already employed within the judicial branch. With the separation of the courts operations, it was anticipated that a separate administrative process for the Supreme Court would cost an approximate additional 1.9 million dollars, for a total budget sum of $9,212,317. Unfortunately, only the sum of $3,000,000 was appropriated for the Supreme Court 2008 operations, a sum of less than 40% of our original budget request and which resulted in the inability of the Court to implement its staffing needs. Despite the needs of the Court and the desire to grant relief to our overtaxed personnel, the Court elected to proceed conservatively in fiscal year 2008 given the limited budget sum appropriated, the lack of appropriate court facilities, the desire to conserve relevant funds to ensure availability for construction and renovation costs and to ensure adequate compensation for qualified personnel and to ensure that the court remains as streamlined as possible considering the limited budget. In sum, we spent no more than was absolutely required at great sacrifice to the Court s development and its staff. Accordingly, the Court currently employs only 24 individuals, which is only 50% of the amount currently required for the proper operation and functioning of the Court. The Clerk s Office has grown to accommodate two (2) deputy clerks on each island who are responsible for docketing and assisting with the movement of all matters that come before the Court. An appointment is currently pending for the Clerk of the Court, the former clerk having resigned her position earlier this year, and the Court is actively recruiting the services of a Staff Attorney to complete the current complement of staff for that office. 8

9 The Administrative Office of the Court now employs the Administrative Director, the Deputy Administrator of Technology Services, an Accounting Clerk, Computer Support Technician, and a Custodian. In addition, the Court will be actively seeking to fill the following vacancies during the next fiscal year: Chief Financial Officer, Administrative Secretary, Messengers, Custodian, Building & Grounds Maintenance Worker, Human Resource Manager and Procurement Clerk. Incidentally, the filling of those vacancies is scheduled to coincide with the completion of the renovated facilities on both islands which can then suitably accommodate the additional personnel. Further, the Supreme Court adopted Rule 102 on July 21, 2008, creating the positions of Supreme Court Marshals and will be seeking to fill those marshal positions immediately. Facilities No. 18 Strand Street, Frederiksted, St. Croix The Court has spent a substantial amount of the time this fiscal year focused on its facilities. As you might imagine, the lack of appropriate Court facilities impacts the ability of the Court to function properly, to schedule matters appropriately, and the ability to hire and accommodate necessary personnel. As indicated in our last budget appearances before this Committee, the Court purchased a building at No. 18 Strand Street and commenced initial renovations on the second floor to establish the judicial chambers. Renovations were completed to the second floor in September 2007, with the Court taking occupancy of the premises in October. 9

10 The Court is now in the process of renovating the first floor, having finalized the architectural designs and drawings. The renovation which will completely refurbish the first floor and install a lift to afford ADA access to the second floor and will be funded from the remaining start up funds appropriated by Act No Once completed, the Clerk s Office and Administrative Offices will be relocated to the first floor of the building to better accommodate our client community. No. 161B Crown Bay On July 24, 2007, the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands entered into a lease with the Virgin Islands Port Authority to lease the former Little Switzerland Building at Parcel No. 161B Crown Bay, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands for two (2) purposes: (1) Chambers, Offices and Court facilities for the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands on the Second Floor and (2) Archive and storage space for the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands on the First Floor. On December 28, 2007, the First Addendum to the lease was executed to establish a new commencement date of January 1, 2008, given the Port Authority s failure to timely deliver complete possession of the leased premises. Thereafter, in January of 2008, it was learned that the Superior Court was no longer interested in occupying the first floor of the premises, having procured alternate facilities. In addition, architectural surveys established that the cost to repair and build out the facility for the Supreme Court s use would exceed the initial estimate of the Court. Accordingly, the Supreme Court then sought further concessions from the Virgin Islands Port Authority, which recently has agreed to share in the cost of the repairs by (1) lowering the lease rent to $13.00 per square foot overall, a reduction of the rent by $104,500 or 28% per year), 10

11 (2) sharing equally in the cost of procurement and installation of the elevator, (3) extending the rent increase periods to every five years instead of every three years and (4) further deferring the commencement of rental payments to October 1, As a result of these concessions, we are happy to report that our request for rental costs in the budget request may be reduced from $371,000 to $266,500 per annum. Currently, the design and drawings are complete, demolition has been completed, the elevator has been ordered, and all electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems have been reviewed and evaluated. The final construction documents and bid package will be released shortly. Current estimates place the time of completion at four (4) months. Once completed the Court will be able to fill its remaining vacancies and finally settle into adequate and convenient chambers and court facilities within which to perform the important business of the Court. Technology In a relatively short period, the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands has made tremendous strides in laying the technological foundation necessary to meet the public s and judicial community s expectations. As the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands is in its formative years, a wonderful opportunity exists to incorporate technology from the ground up. We have sought to take advantage of this opportunity. Our website, located at is one such example. From the outset, we have sought to provide not just information but an interactive experience for our customers. As such, we have implemented functionality allowing the public to sign up to electronically receive the latest information and opinions coming out of the Supreme Court. As opinions are published, our community is notified and provided a link to the opinion. As important events 11

12 and news occur, the public is notified. Currently 77 persons have signed up to receive notification from the Court s website. We also recently provided the capability to have all our forms filled out on-line. In the next few weeks, we will provide the capability to accept credit card transactions for routine transactions such as request for certificates of good standing. With the court s inception in January 2007, we quickly implemented a technological infrastructure capable of supporting the court s daily tasks. Today the court s technological infrastructure supports the operations on both islands. Inter-island communication, teleconferencing, , and the imaging of case files are part of the daily operations. Our current efforts are only a means to our primary goal ---to provide a Supreme Court that can fairly and timely process all matters of appeal. To that end, we recently published our Request for Proposals for an Appellate Case Management System with electronic filing and document management capabilities. This system will provide the functionality to enhance the court operations and statistical reporting capability. Additionally, electronic filing functionality will allow attorneys 24 hour access for court filings. As matters before the Supreme Court are time sensitive, this expanded service will allow the attorneys to meet deadlines and negate unnecessary delays in case processing. Electronic filing will also enhance service to parties and facilitate the Court s use of the documents filed. The anticipated public access component will ultimately provide public access to review publicly accessible case dockets. These technological advancements are no longer novel to appellate courts across the country. They have become standard practices based on the public s expectation and demand for service and access to justice. Therefore, in establishing the Supreme Court we plan to fully integrate technology into the core operations of the court. 12

13 Future of the Supreme Court Appellate Case Performance Standards In the coming year, the Supreme Court will be monitoring the progress of the National Center of State Courts on the development of the Appellate Court Performance Standards. Indeed, our Administrative Director currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Conference of State Court Administrators Court Management Committee, which will be reviewing and moving the adoption of the final Appellate Court Performance Standards. It is our intent to incorporate the standards, where applicable, to facilitate transparency, accountability, and improved court performance all of which will contribute to public trust and confidence in the judiciary. Strategic Plan The Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands also intends to begin the process of developing a strategic plan that documents the Court s outlook and objectives for the next five (5) years. It is our intent to seek the input of the employees of the Supreme Court and those of the Superior Court given our reliance on appropriate case processing at the trial level. Moreover, the input of our stakeholders to include the members of the Virgin Islands Bar Association and the public will also be solicited. In doing so, the Supreme Court intends to continue to define its place in the judiciary and make the public aware of the vital role the Courts play in ensuring our liberty. CCJ Conference The Supreme Court and the Virgin Islands is honored to host the Mid Year Annual conference of the Conference of Chief Justices in January This will be the first time in its long history that the Conference of Chief Justices will meet in the Virgin Islands and will be a boost to the 13

14 tourism product of the Virgin Islands as the Chief Justices of every state and territory together with family, staff, speakers and guests will be introduced to the Virgin Islands. Much of the preparation for the conference will be accomplished in the 2009 fiscal year and we have allowed sums for this purpose in the contingency fund section of the proposed budget. In sum, the needs of the Supreme Court continue to grow. Based on the filings and cases now fully briefed, the Justices will have a full docket of cases to resolve in the upcoming fiscal year. Accordingly, while the Court has proceeded cautiously and conservatively in the past, we anticipate continued growth in the area of personnel, technology and accounting practices and procedures going forward to meet and keep pace with the full and expanding case load. The Supreme Court s fiscal year 2009 budget request is the appropriate level of funding necessary to support the Court s progress in this critical period of development. Supreme Court s Budgetary Outlook for Fiscal Year 2009 For fiscal year 2008, the Legislature appropriated $3,000,000 to the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands a mere 40% of our original request. Accordingly, wishing to conserve as much of the original appropriation as possible, the Court proceeded cautiously with its expenditures. Despite our desire to reserve the remaining funds in the initial appropriation to fund the construction of a courthouse once the current appeal has been decided, the Court is now committed to utilizing the funds to complete its renovation costs on both islands. The Supreme Court requests a total of $7,260,226 for its operating expenses for fiscal year Although budgets of Courts of Last Resort, such as the Supreme Court generally represent 1.0% of overall state budget, the amount requested by the Supreme Court represents a mere 0.83% of the total 2009 budget sum of $867.3 million. That sum reflects $3,969,226 to 14

15 fund personnel salaries and costs, plus an additional $100,000 to fund the use of justices pro tem, and the use of attorneys and court reporters to facilitate indigent representation (for a total of $4,069,226), constituting 56% of the overall cost. The remaining $3,291,000, constituting 44% of the overall cost, will facilitate normal operations and will contribute to the efficiency of the Court. We specifically highlight the request for $950,000 for the procurement and installation of an Appellate Case Management System, constituting 13% of the overall request. Last year, we requested the sum of $450,000 to begin this process; however, given the substantial reduction in our request, the Court was required to defer this enhancement to fiscal year The Court views this system as critical to not only the Supreme Court, but the entire administration of justice. It is necessary to facilitate the e-filing component. This will permit the local judiciary to join the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the Bankruptcy Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in heralding the new age of e-filing and appropriate document management. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS The Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has submitted a budget submission in the amount of $39,903,155. The Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, attendant with his administrative team will present the justification for the request. We ask that you also give the request due consideration. CONCLUSION In closing, the Judicial Council, the Supreme Court and the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands all constitute the Judicial Branch of government. Each entity has an obligation to the constituents it serves, as well as to the staff and personnel that comes under its administrative 15

16 control. It is important that the Legislature of the Virgin Islands continue to support all facets of the judiciary and give each request your due consideration. concerns. I, as well as the other members of our team stand ready to answer your questions and Thank you. 16