Budget strikes startle courts. - This was not an informed & smart move by the Governor.

State court officials were taken by surprise when Gov. Sonny Perdue eliminated funding for judges' and prosecutors' councils with a stroke of his pen.

The state's district attorneys rely heavily on their council . . . to provide hands-on assistance . . . .

David Fowler, who runs the council's drug-prosecution division, said his staff helped recover $3 million to $4 million last year in forfeitures. That's drug dealers' money given to local law enforcement, he said.

The trial services division works with the state's prosecutors to research legal issues and provide those in the trenches with briefs and manuals. It also trains prosecutors and law enforcement, Mr. Fowler said.

"We're like the district attorneys' lawyers," he said.

The Council of Superior Court Judges provides similar services for the state's trial court judges.

(5-16-05, The Augusta Chronicle.)
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Both of these councils provide their "clients" invaluable assistance. The Governor should expect some repercussion from this action, just as Court of Appeals' Howard Mead experienced last year from what was perceived to be unwarranted statements.