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15 Jud. Div. Rec. 1 (2011-2012)

handle is hein.aba/judrc0015 and id is 1 raw text is: By Hon. Richard C. Goodwin, Fresno, CA t is an honor and privilege to be the Chair of the Judicial Division of the ABA for 2011-2012. This will be another exciting year for all of us. As an introduction, I am a United States Administrative Law Judge (A.L.J.) with the U.S. Department of Transportation, where I have been since 2004. Prior to that I was an A. L.J. with the Social Security Administration, serving as both a 'line' A.L.J. and Chief Judge in Fresno for about a total of 8 1/2 years. As of the date of this column I will have been on the bench 15 years. I was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. I graduated from William and Mary with an A.B. in Economics, obtained an M.B.A. from Xavier University, then a law degree from Northern Kentucky University. After college graduation, I was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army, T.C. I spent two years on Active Duty in Korea and Ft. Riley, Kansas. I then worked as an Economist with the U.S. Labor Department. After law school I returned to active duty as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army. I served three years at Aberdeen Proving Ground before leaving active duty and entering private practice in Annapolis, Maryland. I stayed in the reserves, ultimately retiring as a Colonel in 2002. In 1990 I volunteered and spent five months in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The majority of my twenty (20) years of private practice was as a solo practitioner, where I did trial work, arbitration, mediation and facilitation. Our courts are in financial crisis The nationwide underfunding of the judiciary has reached crisis levels throughout our country as legislatures and executive branches look for ways to balance their budgets. During his term, President Zack formed a Task Force on the Preservation of the Judicial System. The Task Force addressed some of the most critical issues on this topic, including: the severe underfunding of our justice system, the depletion of resources, and the courts' struggle to render their constitutional function and provide access to justice for countless Americans. The Task Force points out, When the judiciary is underfunded, the three branches of government are out of balance. Virtually every state has seen debilitating combinations of hiring freezes, pay cuts, judicial furloughs, staff layoffs, early retirement, increased filing fees and outright closures. The Task Force estimates the proportion of state and local budgets represented by a fully-funded court system ranges from 1 to 2%. continued on page 3

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