NCJ Number
76725
Journal
Connecticut Bar Journal Volume: 52 Dated: (August 1978) Pages: 297-302
Date Published
1978
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Access to the courts and appropriate court reform in Connecticut are discussed in this address delivered by a judge of the superior court of Bridgeport, Conn.
Abstract
Americans currently enjoy more rights, greater access to courts, and more ways and means of equitably resolving disputes than ever before in history. Rapidly changing sociological, economic, and technological conditions have produced a multitude of new laws of wide variety and scope. A constant search continues to make legal services more convenient and accessible and to reduce the cost of dispute resolution. For example, in California nonjudicial resolution of minor disputes is handled in some communities by neighborhood justice centers. Rapidly increasing means of access have combined with explosive developments in the area of constitutional rights to result in prolongation of trials in civil and criminal courts, particularly in the latter. Also, legislatures are passing new statutes which create the basis for new trials within trials without realizing the impact on the overloaded judicial system. In Connecticut, the legislature is considering laws on fixed sentences for criminals. Such action would perpetuate the ineffective parole system by incorporating it into the court sentence itself. Connecticut's judicial system has suffered from a lack of personnel and facilities for many years due to lack of funds and the necessary authorization to act where needed. Politicians and the legislature continue to make increased demands on the courts without providing the means to meet them. Connecticut needs a greatly expanded court system to meet these demands. Such needs are not limited to this State, and legislatures throughout the country must realize that the complexities of litigation today require expansion of the courts to ensure the system's efficiency. No references are given.