Years of inadequately-funded courts have eroded confidence in the legal system and cost states hundreds of millions — or even billions — of dollars. That’s the conclusion of a group of lawyers in a newly released analysis on state court funding. More than 40 states instituted a salary freeze for court employees or reported budget cuts between 2009 and 2012, the analysis shows. Additionally, more than half of all states laid off staff or suspended filling clerk vacancies in order to save dollars …