Nashville, Tenn. – Chief Justice Janice Holder today issued a written report on the State of the Tennessee Judiciary to members of the General Assembly. The nine-page report, which is available at www.tncourts.gov, provides legislators and the general public with an overview of the initiatives, accomplishments and challenges of the judiciary.
“In Tennessee, as in every state, the court system plays a vital role in governance and touches the lives of all its citizens in many ways,” Holder writes in the report. “Regardless of the nature of the case or the court in which it is heard, Tennessee courts must administer justice fairly and equally to all citizens.”
Holder goes on to outline the three strategic initiatives of the Tennessee Supreme Court – providing equal access to the court system, developing more productive and efficient case management methods, and enhancing the court system’s use of technology. In the report, Holder emphasizes the Court’s efforts to increase access to justice, the number one strategic priority for the Court.
“The current economic climate has created a crisis in the need for civil legal services that can be expected to increase as our indigent and working poor face legal problems caused by events such as unemployment, predatory loans, uninsured medical bills, domestic violence, evictions, and foreclosures,” Holder wrote. “We are eager to partner with the General Assembly, the executive branch, and our fellow Tennesseans to find innovative solutions to this growing need.”
The report also discusses how the court system has continued making progress on its strategic initiatives despite reductions to the judiciary’s recurring budget for Fiscal Year 2009-10.
The full text of the State of the Judiciary report is available online here.