NY Court System Spending Is Highest Per Capita in the Nation

NY Court System Spending Is Highest Per Capita in the Nation
“The New York Criminal Justice System is one of the best if not the best in the United States. If it costs money, that money is well spent.” – retired Fourth Dept. Justice Joseph Valentino
By Michael Friedman | July 30, 2018 at 08:56 AM

On July 6, I had the privilege of being interviewed for the Rochester NBC affiliate for a program called NY Exposed: New York’s Costly Courts. It was based on my research that showed that the New York judicial budget is the highest per capita in the country in spite of the fact that court filings have declined by nearly 1.4 million in the last ten years. In that time the budget has increased $440 million to $2.9 billion for fiscal year 2017-2018. Florida, which has 147,000 more people than New York, runs its judiciary on a tad under $539 million or $27.09 per person. New York operates at $148.89 per person.