Financing of the Washington State Judicial System

• NCJ Number: 87861
• Author(s): D A Padget
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 109 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for State Courts; Washoe Cty Sheriff's Dept
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The trial courts of the State of Washington receive financial management services of good quality, but the courts' financial practices contain some weaknesses which need to be addressed.

Abstract

In addition, the gap between court-generated revenues and the costs of court operations is growing. Court costs per capita and per filing appear to decline as the size of the court increases, indicating a potential for economies of scale. The judicial system needs to place a high priority on developing modern management techniques such as cost accounting and management systems analysis and should use the information generated by these techniques. As competition for increasingly limited government resources intensifies, management information for the judicial branch will become essential. Clarification of the nature of the chain of administrative authority and responsibility in the Washington court system is also needed. State funding may be essential to support the court system. A data base which will provide management information is also needed. Data tables, a figure, and a map are provided.