PDF: Tennessee Judiciary report
The No. 1 concern for Tennessee's Supreme Court continues to be the problem of getting legal access to poor people, according to a report released Friday.
There are more than 1 million Tennesseans who qualify for legal aid in civil legal matters because they fall beneath federal poverty guidelines, the report states, but there still are only 81 full-time, federally funded Tennessee lawyers who can meet the need.
"Thousands more fall just outside the income guidelines and are unable to afford representation when faced with a life-altering legal event," Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Janice M. Holder stated in the report.
Chief Justice Holder, along with her other colleagues on the state Supreme Court, wrote the report, which outlines the current state of the Tennessee Judiciary.
In addition to the court continuing to look for ways to provide equal access to the legal system through things such as pro bono programs, other priorities include equipping judges with the management skills needed to more quickly resolve disputes and using technology in "new and innovative ways."
The state Supreme Court also will push for new ways to decrease the time that cases spend in court. Judges across Tennessee will receive 40 hours of mediation training as a start, which could lead to the settlement of a case before trial or at least a "narrowing of the issues" so trials can be conducted more efficiently.
"The Supreme Court recognizes the importance of moving cases through the system in a timely manner while, at the same time, ensuring that each party receives due process," the report states.
Software to link court systems across the state will be implemented by late 2011, the report stated.
Chief Justice Holder said that streamlining the entire state court system with one software program will enable officials to more easily gather and analyze statistics and manage caseloads.