Georgia ODR Budget Eviscerated

For those of you who might not follow the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, the final state budget passed by the General Assembly cut $250,000 off ODR's budget -- a 60 percent reduction, leaving a total of $144,643 to sustain the office from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. The cut was a random redirection of funds in which the state judiciary took a big hit overall. Earlier in the process, ODR's budget was completely eliminated. A last minute effort by ADR proponents to educate legislators about the important role ODR plays in our legal system was to no avail. Shinji Morokuma, who recently took over the directorship of ODR, remains calm as always in the face of this setback to the Supreme Court's ADR initiative. He is exploring options which he'll present to the Commission on Dispute Resolution at its May 22nd meeting in Athens.