Court officials will be looking to The Florida Bar in a two-pronged legislative effort to not only stave off budget cuts in light of shriveled state finances but also get extra funds to move cases backlogged because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Help us tell the story of how much we need the resources that we have as well as the resources we’re asking for so the courts can serve your clients and the community,” 20th Circuit Judge Margaret Steinbeck, chair of the Supreme Court’s Trial Court Budget Commission, told the Bar’s COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery Task Force on November 2.

“It would be devastating for us to suffer the cuts that have been proposed,” she continued. “We think it’s our job to make sure we are actually telling the funders, the Legislature, what it is we need to be a fully functioning, effective, and responsive court system.”