South Carolina's courts are facing serious budget fatigue, the state's top judge said, and the public is suffering the consequences.

"This backlog is frightening," Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said Friday during the state Bar's annual convention in Charleston.

"What it means, particularly on the criminal side, is that we tend to concentrate on the violent crimes," Toal said.

Meanwhile, "other crimes of a little less severity - but still with plenty of impact on the general public - fall further and further behind in dispositions," she added.

Toal's comments were part of her annual State of the Judiciary address.

During the lunchtime speech, Toal pointed out that the court system's annual budget is becoming more dependent on fees and other court-related charges and less on direct cash appropriations from the Legislature.

For example, the courts received $41 million in state appropriation funding in 1999-2000, the fiscal year she took over as chief justice.

That amount has dropped to $35 million this year, she said.

"That is not a stable way to fund the third branch of government," Toal said.

To help ease the problem, Toal said she hopes the General Assembly will fund three new judges for Circuit Court and three for Family Court.

South Carolina courts have not had any additional judge positions in the Circuit or Family courts in nearly a decade, she said.

Toal's statistics show the current caseload per trial judge in South Carolina remains among the heaviest in the nation, at about 4,167 cases each.

The national average is about 1,754 cases per judge.

Toal also is concentrating on a study of state salaries with an eye toward determining if, and how much, state judges are being underpaid for what the job entails.

Circuit Court judges in South Carolina make $125,265 a year, while Family Court judges earn $121,968, according to the state Office of Court Administration.

The salary study recommendations will compare salaries of top officials across state government to see how judges' salaries rate versus others with similar responsibilities, such as law school deans or university professors. The results could be ready by February.

Toal acknowledged that lawmakers see raising judicial pay as politically unpopular.

But she countered, "I'll fund the study, and I'll take the bully pulpit."

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts also has made judges' salaries a key issue.

Although many of Toal's pet projects for improving the delivery of justice came back to funding issues and the Legislature, a bright spot, she said, is the state's improving economic picture, which could lead to improved budgets.

Reach Schuyler Kropf at skropf@postandcourier.com or 937-5551.