Jury trials halted as court budgets cut

CONCORD, N.H., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. state courts budgets are being squeezed so badly that one, New Hampshire, won't hold jury trials for a month to save on per diem costs, officials said.

Among its other cost-cutting measures, New Hampshire state courts will halt all civil and criminal jury trials for a month early next year to save the $73,000 paid to jurors for meal money, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

And New Hampshire isn't alone: At least 19 other states are moving to slash court budgets and other government services as their economies tank, Daniel Hall, vice president of the National Center for State Courts, told the newspaper.

"Courts are there to provide a fair and impartial resolution of disputes," Hall said. "When you start affecting that, you affect who we are."

In California, jobs cut in the state's judicial branch have saved $200 million, or about 10 percent of the budget, in the current fiscal year, the Times said. More reductions are on tap as the state tries to find ways to cope with a projected $40 billion deficit.

Republican state lawmakers say their new proposal would trim a further $205 million from the California judiciary.