Legislative auditors, responding to the request of the Judiciary Interim Committee and several separate allegations by employees of the state courts system, have returned a generally favorable review of the system's administrative arm.
The audit of the Administrative Office of the Courts, released Tuesday afternoon, covers a variety of issues, from the office's significant staff and expenditure growth to the number of law clerks available to help judges with their legal research.
Courts administrator Daniel J. Becker, in his written response to the audit and its recommendations, said the office agreed with the recommendations and had either implemented or begun to implement all that applied to the office.
He said many of the audit's observations and recommendations, however, apply more to the Judicial Council, the body charged with governing the courts system. The council created the AOC and handles most of the broader issues of the judiciary addressed in the audit, and Becker said he believes the council, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham, will be responsive to most of the recommendations.
Among the audit's highlights:
Auditors found that the AOC, which increased its staff by 53 percent and its expenditures by 29 percent between 1992 and 2002, has grown "significantly" but not as quickly as the judiciary overall. Further, budgetary cutbacks in fiscal year 2002 led to staff and expenditure reductions in the judiciary, and auditors reported that the AOC's reductions were steeper than the judiciary's.
Allegations by six AOC employees, who filed for "whistle-blower" protections with the state, included claims of mismanagement, violation of policies and procedures and misuse of public funds. Auditors found all the allegations unsubstantiated, and two of the employees withdrew their complaints early in the audit process.
The AOC's organization is complicated because it is made up of staff and programs scattered throughout the judiciary. Because of that, specific budgetary data and other information were hard to gather, leading auditors to "understand why some judges have been frustrated with their inability to get information about the AOC." However, auditors found the AOC to be "sincere" in its efforts to provide information to judges and the public, and the report praised a program-based budgeting initiative already under way to clear up some of the confusion.
The Legislative Audit Subcommittee approved the audit and passed it on to the Judiciary Interim Committee for further study and possible legislative initiative.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com