The chief justice of Missouri's Supreme Court urged lawmakers on Wednesday to continue to support court employees in the state鈥檚 46 judicial circuits.
鈥淔rom the front lines, our local court staff experience first-hand how their everyday work impacts the people in their communities,鈥� Mary Russell told members of the state House and Senate during her State of the Judiciary speech Wednesday. 鈥淢ost of the work that we do does not generate headlines or go viral on social media, but the ordinary duties create extraordinary results for citizens across our state.鈥�
The speech took lawmakers through a regular day in courthouses across the state, where 3,400 employees handle everything from adoptions to felony trials to wills.
Russell has spent her second term as chief justice 鈥� a position that rotates among the Supreme Court鈥檚 seven judges 鈥� traveling to the state鈥檚 46 judicial circuits. So far, she said, she鈥檚 been to 36.
鈥淭hese tours have shown us that investing in our courts is an investment in our local citizens,鈥� she said.
Russell had a few specific requests for lawmakers. While the state court system has mostly recovered from an electrical problem that knocked its servers off-line last summer, more funding is needed to get them back to full functionality and prevent future problems.
In addition, Russell hoped lawmakers would boost the mileage reimbursement rate for jurors, who currently get paid just seven cents per mile. Russell asked for it to match the state employee rate of about 66 cents.
鈥淒oing so will demonstrate respect for our jurors,鈥� Russell said.
The chief justice added that she was 鈥済rateful for the opportunity鈥� to work with lawmakers to add beds at two juvenile detention centers in central Missouri, 鈥渨hile increasing our security and mental health services and maintaining juvenile detention staff throughout our state.鈥�
