Flood Of Foreclosure, Debt Related Lawsuits Put Strain On New Jersey Court System

In New Jersey, The Star Ledger reports:

• The economic struggles of New Jersey residents are putting a strain on the state's understaffed courts as foreclosure and debt-related cases surge, the court system's director told state lawmakers [this week]. Foreclosure filings for the first three months of the year exceeded 4,000 a month, a staggering 44 percent increase over the same period last year, Judge Philip S. Carchman told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. They are on track to hit 49,000 cases by the end of the year, double the number from just two years ago. Debt cases, mainly from credit cards problems in which $15,000 or less is owed, are also spilling into the courts. Carchman said 621,000 are expected this year, 100,000 more than last year.

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• Carchman said judges know by experience that family financial problems will also lead to an increase in the Family Court caseload. "Financial struggles tear families apart, possibly resulting in divorce, domestic violence, abuse or neglect of children or missed support payments," he said. "We may see the effects of increased financial strain in the criminal courts as well," he added.

• Carchman said the court system will be hard-pressed to manage and resolve the growing caseload "while at the same time reducing staff by 300 to meet our budget reduction of $27 million."

For more, see Courts are hard-pressed to deal with hard times.

For similar stories in Minnesota & Florida, see:

• [Minnesota] State's court system shows budget strain (More cuts aren't the solution in economic downturn),
• [Florida] Courts foresee staff reductions (30 percent of the workforce is at risk).

Go here for posts on other court systems being squeezed by foreclosures & budget cuts. state budget cuts courts