“… but there is something particularly disturbing about a closed courtroom and what that says about how we govern and how we view access to justice” says the The Record newspaper of San Joaquin County in a new editorial. Along with its strong opinion, the paper also reports that the county’s local court will use an “additional” $1.5 million to re-hire some laid-off court staffers.
But, adds the newspaper, “… the additional money, however, is not enough to reopen shuttered courtrooms in Tracy and Lodi that were closed in April.” And the paper explains why the “additional” money is not really adding anything: “San Joaquin County Superior Court Executive Officer Rosa Junqueiro notes that lawmakers this year cut the courts by $261 million statewide, so adding back in $60 million still means California court funding is off by $201 million.”
Along with updating the local situation, The Record is reminding us that not all the mainstream media is ignoring the justice rationing issue. Read the editorial here.
