Chief Justice Seeks Another $266m For Courts

April 8, 2014 By

Think what you will of California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, she is proving relentless at advocating for increased courts funding. A recent example came with an KABC Los Angeles Eyewitness News interview with Adrienne Alpert, who asked tough questions about court management and budget issues. 

Alpert notes that “… chief justices rarely agree to interviews, but Cantil-Sakauye is adamant the $105 million the governor added to the judicial budget is not nearly enough” then adds that “the chief justice says it will actually take $266 million to keep the courts running as they are and more than double that to fully serve the public.”

The interview is interesting, in part, because it refines the likely points as the state budget annual deadline moves into the two-month range. See video and text of the story here. 

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , , ,

Family Law Movie Still Making Fans

April 7, 2014 By
 
It has been out for a while now, but the family law documentary “Divorce Corp.” continues to gain fans, with its official trailer moving past 1 million views on YouTube and continued theater-venue screenings. The next one in the L.A. area, for example, is May 8 at 7 p.m. and hosted by “The Divorce Transition Professionals” at the Westlake Village Twin Theater.
Photo: www.divorcecorp.com

Photo: www.divorcecorp.com

 
The film takes a hard look at the family court in general through how it handles divorces, especially how children can become pawns in the proceedings. It is issue-specific, but shows some serious problems with L.A. family courts – the film makes the case that the system has become little more than a huge fee factory for lawyers and the courts.
 
Is it fair? Dan Schawbel at Huffington Post has a good interview with Dr. Drew Pinsky that largely answers that. Says Dr. Drew: “This is a system that doesn’t really serve anyone’s best interest except the system itself.”

 

Check out the trailer, the companion book and find local screenings here: www.divorcecorp.com.
Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: , , ,

Obama Picks Prosecutor For Fed Bench

April 4, 2014 By
 
High-profile U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. has been nominated for a federal judgeship in the L.A.-based Central District of California. He currently is head of a division that works on criminal, civil and tax cases. His nomination by President Obama follows a recommendation by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and faces confirmation by the senate.
 
Most recently, Birotte’s office led the investigations the brought indictments against California state Senator Ron Calderon on public corruption charges. The story is being reported by public radio station KPCC here. 
 
Follow the reporter, Sharon McNary: @KPCCsharon on Twitter
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Court Interpreters Are Another Budget Issue

April 2, 2014 By
 
Who gets court-funded interpreters and how many are available are among issues being raised by a series of “working group” meetings focused on the pending state budget court-funding debate. While many judges say they may have enough to deal with Spanish-speaking cases, they note that more than 200 languages are spoken in California, according to a report by public radio station KPCC.
 
Another issue is which kinds of cases even get court-funded interpreters, notes the station, noting that “… while counties provide them for criminal cases, they generally don’t for things like child custody hearings and divorce proceedings. “We provide an interpreter for someone who ran a red light, but not someone who’s losing their children,” said one source.
 
The working group has already met in San Francisco. Next month, they’ll hold their final hearing in Sacramento before submitting the first draft of a language access improvement plan in June, reports Rina Palta, the station’s crime and safety reporter. Read and listen to the report here.


Follow the reporter on Twitter: @KPCCRina911 

 

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , ,

City Watch Hits Flat-Fee Juvenile Defense Issue

April 2, 2014 By
 
The City Watch website is posting a story about the flat-fee juvenile defense system. At issue is how attorneys representing indigent youth are paid. The story by Gary Cohn is making the rounds as activists try to apply heat to officials who control the system.
 
Cohn writes that “… the problem is particularly serious in Los Angeles County, one of the world’s largest juvenile justice systems, where a controversial low-bid, flat fee compensation system for attorneys representing certain indigent youth raises systemic due process concerns. Under that system, contract attorneys — such as the one who represented Antonio, are paid an astonishingly low fee of $300 to $350 per case, regardless of whether the case involves shoplifting or murder. This is in a city where private lawyers are costly. Criminal defense attorney fees in Los Angeles can easily exceed $500 an hour.”
 
He also reports that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 11 voted unanimously to study the issue of panel attorneys’ compensation and other issues involving the county’s juvenile defense system. A series of recommendations is expected to be presented to the board this spring. 
 
Read the report, which also appears on publicCEO.com, here.
Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Class-Action Suit Seeks Judicial Back Pay

March 31, 2014 By
 
California judges are owed back pay and pension increases because their salaries did not keep pace with state worker compensation as required by law, according to a class action lawsuit filed by a recently retired judge. Robert Mallano, a former presiding judge of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in January, according to the PublicCEO website.
 
At a meeting of state officials this month where the lawsuit was discussed, Alan Milligan, California’s chief actuary, said there is no formal estimate of the cost if the suit prevails. He said “most or all” of a $97 million liability gain, mainly due to lower salaries, likely would be lost. “How it plays out over time in the contribution rate, that’s a bit more difficult,” Milligan said. “I would have to do a bit of work to calculate that.”
 

You can read the report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , , ,

N.C. Essay Notes CA Juvenile Justice

March 28, 2014 By
 
A Charlotte, NC, newspaper essay is citing a pair of California cases – one famous and historical, the other less famous and current – as examples why and how young African-American men have “skeptical” feelings about the justice system. Corey Arvin, writing in the Black Voice News and carried by The Charlotte Post, asserts that “today’s young African-Americans are not more skeptical of their value” in the justice system, they are just the latest to be aware of that disparity.
 
Arvin cites recent high-profile national cases like Trayvon Martin and the Michael Dunn “loud music” case, quoting University of California Professor Brenda Stevenson saying “… these aren’t just the opening of new wounds, it’s a combination of fresh and old wounds for African Americans.”
 
Stevenson is the author of a book about the killing of Latasha Harlins, a; 1991 case from South Los Angeles. She says such cases just continue the generational culture, noting that the Harlins case is among those recalled during events like the Martin trial.
 
In a state where the judicial system is choosing to close important community courthouses including facilities vital to juvenile justice, the essay should make your weekend reading list. Click here to read the essay. 
Filed Under: Community, National Tagged With: , , ,

Civil Dept. Supervisor Seeks Asst. Presiding Post

March 26, 2014 By
 
The supervisor of the L.A. Superior Court civil department is a candidate for assistant presiding judge, becoming the first judge to declare for the fall election. After two years, that position would typically lead to an unopposed advancement to presiding judge. The candidacy is being reported in The Metropolitan News-Enterprise.
 
The MetNews website also published part of Daniel J. Buckley’s letter to other judges: “As the Supervising Judge of Civil during the consolidation of the past year, I have worked closely with…[Presiding Judge] Dave Wesley and [Assistant Presiding Judge] Carolyn Kuhl and have spent the great majority of my time in planning and implementing the changes we have undergone. There is still much to do as our court moves forward.”
According to the report, Buckley was appointed to the court in 2002 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and, at the time of his appointment, was managing partner in the law firm then known as Breidenbach, Buckley, Huchting & Hamblet, where he represented defendants in tort and environmental litigation. Read the MetNews coverage here.

 

Filed Under: Community Tagged With: , , , ,

‘Alternative’ Judge’s Group Gaining Momentum?

March 25, 2014 By
 
A judicial group that has been critical of the current court management seems to be gaining some momentum after successfully supporting a legislative audit of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), drawing a crowd to its second annual conference in Los Angeles, partnering with a major university for that conference and gaining strong coverage in The Courthouse News.
 
The CN reported last week that “… the 500-member Alliance of California Judges conference was enlivened with at-times feverish energy, bolstered by a legislative committee’s recent approval of a financial audit examining the Administrative Office of the Courts and how it spends public money. Alliance members had lobbied for the audit, a campaign born out of the AOC’s ability to insulate a large staff and give the staff raises while trial courts were making draconian budget cuts, laying off workers and closing courtrooms.”
 
The CN quoted judges who called the event a “milestone” and it also reported that some out-of-state speakers were surprised to find out how difficult the courts situation has become in California. The conference included participation from George Mason University, and you can check out the CN coverage here. 
Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , ,

Juvenile Advocates Highlight Flaws In System

March 24, 2014 By
 

 

The advocacy website Juvenile Justice Information Exchange has posted a significant report detailing problems with how Los Angeles County provides legal representation for juveniles who cannot afford their own lawyer. 
 
The report notes that “… the problem is particularly serious in Los Angeles County, one of the world’s largest juvenile justice systems, where a controversial low-bid, flat fee compensation system for attorneys representing certain indigent youth raises systemic due process concerns. Under that system, contract attorneys — such as the one who represented Antonio, are paid an astonishingly low fee of $300 to $350 per case, regardless of whether the case involves shoplifting or murder. This is in a city where private lawyers are costly. Criminal defense attorney fees in Los Angeles can easily exceed $500 an hour.”
 
One suggestion is that the juvenile system work more like the adult system in Los Angeles where defendants are represented by attorneys from an alternate public defender’s office or by private attorneys paid an hourly rate based on the complexity of the case and seriousness of the offense – not the flat fee.
 
You can see the report here.
Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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