Legislative Watch

Court Fee Increases - The Cost of Justice

While intended to help fund state government - though not necessarily the court system itself - court fee increases may erect barriers for people who need the courts but cannot afford the fees.

By Jenny Boese

What do campaign finance reform, the circuit court automation program (CCAP), and a host of other legislative initiatives all have in common?

Each is a legislative attempt that has used or proposes to use court fee increases as funding sources for the operations of the state government - though not necessarily for the court system itself. Each also systematically pushes access to the court system further out of the public's reach.

Every two years the Wisconsin Legislature is charged with the responsibility of establishing funding for state government, including the judicial branch. Legislators are faced with the dilemma of finding enough revenue from the state income, corporate, and sales taxes to fund state government without, they hope, making the unpalatable decision to raise those taxes. To avoid doing so, lawmakers turn to various user fees to balance the books. It is within this framework that civil filing fee and court fee increases become deceptively alluring for legislators.

Current Legislative Proposals: Court Fee Increases

Although the 1999-2000 legislative session began in January, there already have been attempts to increase fees assessed in civil court. The first attempt, though so far unsuccessful, came under Assembly Bill 234, public campaign financing grants for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates.

AB 234 would have used a $1 increase in the civil filing fee to fund public financed campaign grants for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates; the underlying rationale being that legislators support campaign finance reform but maybe not quite enough to fully fund it. So they tack on a user fee and pass that cost onto a small segment of the population. Even though the initial attempt to increase the civil filing fee in AB 234 was unsuccessful, legislators continue to look at it and other court fee increases to fund this campaign finance reform idea.

Last month it happened again when a $2 increase in another court fee - the Justice Information System Fee - gained preliminary approval during deliberations on the biennial state budget bill (Assembly Bill 133). In this instance, rather than provide general tax revenue or use other options to fund CCAP, the computer system for uniform case management of the circuit courts, partial funding was found by using the $2 increase, again passing on some of the costs to the public.

A Historical Perspective: Two Case Studies

The aforementioned legislative attempts to increase the civil filing fee and other court fees are just two examples in a long litany of fee increases over the years. A historical look at several of those fees provides an even broader perspective on the subject. (Please see the accompanying chart.)

Circuit Court Support Fee (Wis. Stat. § 814.634). In the early 1990s, the state recognized the need to provide partial funding relief to the counties for the costs of operating the circuit courts, because those courts are not fully funded by the state. To do so, the Legislature authorized creation of the Circuit Court Support Grant under the 1993 state budget bill (Act 16). In yet another use of cost shifting, Act 16 also included a new $20 Circuit Court Support Fee to help the state offset some of the costs that it would incur due to the changes in Act 16.

Once created, the Legislature quickly increased the fee again. In 1995 the $20 fee was doubled to $40 and then trifurcated into a $30 fee for small claims and a $100 fee for large claims, with the $40 fee assessed on forfeiture judgments or other civil court filings (1995 Wis. Act 27). The fee continues to be assessed on most civil court filings and forfeiture judgments.

Justice Information System Fee (Wis. Stat. § 814.635). When the supreme court requested money to initiate CCAP, the Legislature created yet another fee to partially pay for the program - the Court Automation Fee. It began under 1987 Wis. Act 27 with a small assessment on all forfeiture judgments and most civil actions. Within a few short years the fee was raised to $3 (1991 Wis. Act 39).

Although the Court Automation Fee underwent a name change in 1995 to become the Justice Information System Fee, it was again a legislative target for increases when it was raised to $5 (1995 Wis. Act 27). In 1997 the fee was increased once more to $7 (1997 Wis. Act 27). Finally, as already mentioned, there is another $2 increase in the fee, raising it to $9 (subject to final legislative/governor approval). Today, the fee continues to be assessed on all forfeiture judgments and most civil filings.

Jenny Boese is a State Bar government relations coordinator. For more information, she can be reached at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6045.

The Cost of Justice

User fees are not new to the court system. As evidenced by past and current legislative attempts, fee increases continue to have an undeniable seductiveness for legislators. In its quiet irony, the financial cost only helps to push that system further away from the very individuals it is intended to serve.

Beyond the court fees lies an even greater cost and a greater threat to Wisconsin citizens - access to justice. Fee increases cannot continue to be viewed outside the context of the court system and the citizens they impact. While court fees provide a certain amount of revenue to state coffers, they should not come at the expense of each individual's ability to seek justice.

So maybe when the next $1 civil filing or other court fee increase comes along, we'll stop a moment and ask, "Isn't that cost just a little too high?"

Wisconsin Lawyer