Law Symposium to Address Court Funding Emergency

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2011) — The Kentucky Law Journal will commemorate its 100th volume with a two-day symposium on the nationwide crisis in state court funding Sept. 23-24 at the University of Kentucky.

The symposium, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Center for State Courts, will draw together state chief justices, policy makers, national organization leaders and scholars to discuss how reductions in funding have adversely affected state courts' abilities to meet their constitutional function and provide access to justice.

"The impact on our justice system of the economic pressures on states is just one more in a series of crisis events following the economic downturn of 2008," said UK College of Law Dean David A. Brennen. "The effect of these events has been devastating for the American people. This symposium will explore the legal and constitutional implications of court funding schemes that are inadequate to properly operate our states’ civil and criminal judicial systems.”

ABA President William T. Robinson III, a 1971 graduate of the UK College of Law, will speak at the symposium and will deliver the closing remarks. The issue of court funding is one that Robinson has spoken about with conviction and urgency.

“The ongoing economic crisis has resulted in additional cuts in funding for our already underfunded state courts," Robinson said at his inaugural address in August. "This threatens the very viability of our entire justice system in America and puts at risk the third co-equal branch of government.”

Robinson will be honored at a gala dinner during the symposium to celebrate his ascension to the ABA presidency and to commemorate the 100th volume of the Kentucky Law Journal. Stefan J. Bing, the journal's editor-in-chief, says the symposium will demonstrate the high caliber of legal scholarship at UK.  

"This symposium started off very small, over one year ago, and has grown into an impressive event," Bing said. “We couldn’t be more excited to share the weekend’s events with ABA President and KLJ alumnus Bill Robinson. We hope that it will bring a lot of attention to the issue of underfunding of state courts and furthermore, that it will shine a light on the academic scholarship that the KLJ has produced in the last hundred years, and provide a good start to the next hundred.”

Panel discussions at the symposium will focus on "Courts, Business and the Economy," "Court Funding: Autonomy, Access, and Accountability," and "18th Century Courts – 21st Century Expectations."

The Kentucky Law Journal is the 10th-oldest law review published by the nation's law schools. Publication has been continuous since 1913. Four issues are published annually by the University of Kentucky College of Law. The Journal is edited entirely by a student editorial board, with guidance from a faculty adviser. Each issue contains articles written by prominent national scholars and notes written by journal members encompassing a broad range of legal topics.

For more information about the symposium, including a full schedule of events and information on how to register, go to www.law.uky.edu/symposium.

MEDIA CONTACT: Keith Hautala, (859) 323-2396; keith.hautala@uky.edu