NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - A survey of more than 750 state court employees, officers and members of the public has revealed an overwhelming consensus that recent budget cuts throughout the court system have hampered efficiency, increased delays and hurt morale across the court system.

The questionnaire, which was returned by 759 respondents and released Tuesday by the New York County Lawyers Association, is part of an ongoing effort to assess the impact of $170 million in reductions to the court system's 2011 budget.

A preliminary report from a task force convened to study in August found extensive delays, and earlier this month several witnesses testified at public hearings that the cuts had lengthened trials and created overcrowding in New York's busy courtrooms. A final report is due early next year.

The survey shows "that the judicial budget cuts are having a profound effect on those who work with and in the courts, and are adversely affecting access to justice," said the association's president, Stewart Aaron, in a statement.

Nearly 85 percent of survey respondents strongly agreed or agreed that "efficiency has been compromised," while close to 70 percent strongly agreed or agreed that trials are lasting longer.

The court system -- whose budget struggles mirror those of courts nationwide -- currently operates with 1,300 fewer employees than it had two years ago, due to a combination of layoffs and attrition. A strict limit on overtime costs has forced judges to end court sessions earlier, increasing the time it takes for cases to move through the system.

CUTS HAVE HAD 'MASSIVE IMPACT'

But perhaps more than the raw numbers, it was the hundreds of comments survey respondents included in their questionnaire answers that illustrated the frustrations that the budget cuts have produced.

One respondent, who self-identified as a judge in New York City criminal court, said that the cuts "have had a massive impact on our ability to provide trials to those accused who wish to fight the charges against them."

"[D]ue to the new overtime restrictions that are a direct result of the judiciary budget cuts ... court must end at 4:00 (4:30 if there is only one hearing or bench trial still going on)," the respondent continued. "That makes it nearly impossible to keep up with the onslaught of additional hearings (or bench trials, for that matter)."

One respondent identifying as a lawyer wrote that some clients seeking uncontested divorces were still waiting six months for papers to be signed.

"As a prosecutor, my experience has been that there are simply not enough judges, courtrooms and court personnel to hold the number of trials we should be having," another wrote. "Misdemeanors should not take more than a year to go to trial, yet virtually all of them do."

Other cuts included the virtual elimination of the judicial hearing officer program, which paid retired judges to dispose of cases and reduce the backlog, and a reduction in weekend court hours, which has increased the time it takes for defendants to go from arrest to arraignment.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax)

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