Justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she already spends up to 10 percent of her work time on death penalty cases and lives "in fear and dread" of the time California starts executing more of its death row inhabitants.
States have been free to use capital punishment since a 1976 Supreme Court ruling, but only 166 convicted murderers have been executed in those 16 years. More than 2,500 men and women inhabit death rows.O'Connor, who handles emergency matters from California, said more than 300 condemned people from that state are awaiting execution.
"I live in fear and dread when that dam bursts," she told a House appropriations subcommittee. "The potential (handling of urgent appeals) is frightening."
The California Supreme Court now is dominated by Republicans who are expected to look more favorably on the death penalty. The first execution in the state in 25 years is scheduled for next month.
O'Connor and Justice Antonin Scalia represented the court in asking for $22.2 million from Congress for its fiscal year 1993 budget. That's an increase of $1.5 million over the court's current budget.
At one point, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hesitated before posing a question to O'Connor. "Is it Madame Justice?" she asked.
"Just Justice," O'Connor told her.