In State of the Judiciary address, Nebraska chief justice highlights successes and challenges facing court system

In his second address as chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Jeffrey Funke highlighted the judicial branch’s money-saving measures while also emphasizing the importance of consistent funding.

“The vital services of the judicial branch will continue to require funding,” he said. “Any growth in the number of people we serve will increase that need.”

Funke placed a particular emphasis on alternatives to incarceration, like probation and problem-solving courts, as a way to both save the state money and increase positive outcomes for participants. He said the average cost to supervise an adult on probation is $3,500 per year, and the average annual cost for problem-solving court supervision is about $5,000.

To incarcerate an adult for a year, the cost is about $50,000.

Among the successes, Funke also highlighted a number of challenges facing the judicial branch. Those include a decline in the number of people applying for judicial vacancies, which Funke called an “issue of great concern,” and budget constraints on problem-solving courts, which have reached capacity in some cases.

“Our budget will not allow for the needed increase, and suitable problem-solving court candidates are being turned away,” Funke said, referring to the Lancaster County Adult Drug Court, which reached its maximum capacity of 90 participants. “Many of those turned away will languish in county jails or end up in our state’s already overcrowded prisons.”

Though Gov. Jim Pillen suggested cuts to the judicial branch in previous years, his most recent budget proposal largely spares the courts. Pillen’s biennial budget request does include an $11.4 million general fund reduction for the judicial branch, but that would be offset by proposed legislation to assess additional court fees in civil and traffic cases.

“We trust that the proposed legislation to increase filing fees and reduce general fund appropriations is a reasonable method to ensure services are not sacrificed and public safety is not compromised,” Funke said.

Funke said the Supreme Court has been in the process of replacing JUSTICE, its outdated case management system. JUSTICE is used both by the general public and by court staff. It was implemented in 1994, but Funke said it’s time for an entirely new system.

That new, modernized system will cost “tens of millions of dollars,” Funke said. Some of those funds will be raised by increased fees to search for court case information, which went into effect this year. Funke said the judicial branch will work with the Legislature in the 2027 fiscal year to appropriate state funds to finalize the project.

Translation services were utilized at more than 22,000 court hearings in 71 different languages. Funke said the cost of providing translation services is on the rise, partially because out-of-state interpreters are often utilized for less-common languages. The judicial branch recently began a training program called the Interpreter Certification Pathway, which streamlines the certification process.