Courts Budget

Fresno Op-Ed Is A Civics, Courts Lesson

May 7, 2014 By CCM Staff

The Fresno Bee is running an opinion piece arguing not only that our federal courts are in a crisis, but that the real problem is a “dumbing down” of the education process. Daniel O. Jamison, an attorney with the Dowling Aaron Inc. firm, writes that “… we are at risk of losing the judicial branch. The reason is largely the failure of education. Increasingly, legislators and members of the executive are drawn from a public unschooled in civics. The result is ignorance of the needs and role of the courts…”

He notes that the lack of judges means that many non-criminal (meaning civil issues, like bankruptcy) federal court cases in the Fresno area are redirected to Sacramento, a distance that effectively “closes” the courthouse doors to many seeking civil justice. It’s a compelling argument that the real problem is that people don’t understand how our three branches of government work – an argument we will hear more as the state budget debate gets more attention over the next month.

Read the Jamison opinion here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, Congress, constitution, constitutional crisis, Dowling Aaron, federal courts, partisan politics, partisanship, political crisis, Senate

Budget Advisory Group Holding Thursday Call

May 6, 2014 By CCM Staff

The public can listen into the next meeting of California’s Trial Budget Advisory Committee meeting via a conference call, officials announced. The meeting will discuss “ongoing budget issues plaguing the state’s courts,” according to published accounts, and will focus on court interpreter funding and proposed revisions to some tech project allocations.

The meeting is open to the public via conference call. The meeting will also be audiocast live. More information is available here: Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee – judicial_council.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: budget, California, California Budget, california court cuts, court rationing, governmental accountability, Judges, Justice Rationing, open meetings, transparency

Chief Justice Continues Funding Push

May 5, 2014 By CCM Staff

The “Tani tour” continues, and California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye may be warning wealthy communities, that may have been spared extreme court cuts so far, that their services might soon suffer from a lack of funding. That’s because new state spending formulas take population into consideration, so slow-growth communities will feel the pain.

That talking point emerged at the Marin County Civic Center where, the Marin Independent Journal reports, “… Cantil-Sakauye described the judiciary as desperately underfunded, having been forced to cut about $1 billion since the economic downturn began around 2008. The cuts have forced the closure of 51 courthouses in the system, even as it struggles to digest 7.5 million new cases a year in a state of 38 million people speaking scores of languages.”

After the statewide message, Kim Turner, executive director of Marin Superior Court, “… said Marin has fared better than other counties because its population has not exploded. But she said Marin stands to lose money as court funding is spread to counties in dire shape.”

“It’s going to hurt,” Turner said, as quoted by the Independent Journal. “It’s going to require some belt-tightening.”

You can read the full story here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California State Budget, California Superior Court, civil court, court rationing, Justice Rationing, shared sacrifice

‘New Years’ Eve’ Weekend For Some Law Folks

May 2, 2014 By CCM Staff

With the “law year” ending on June 30, this weekend offers a two-for-one as many communities also hose Law Day events (it was Thursday). As they note in the Washington, D.C. Bar Association “… in the tradition ofLaw Day, each year the WBA and the WBALF hosts the Annual Law Day Dinner on the first Saturday of May. That event is a highlight of the legal calendar, drawing about 500 people to the formal dinner.

So be sure to, as they say, check your local listings.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: events, fiscal year, Law Day, legal, year-end

Court Funding Gets S.D. ABC Report

April 30, 2014 By CCM Staff

The San Diego ABC News affiliate is offering some “overview” coverage of the state’s civil courts funding crisis. The story offers nothing new, but is a recent example of more mainstream press starting to notice the “five-year” crisis in justice funding. The reporters offer the insight that “Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to solve the problem” – they cite no source, but certainly plenty of justice advocates would question the governor’s motives.

The usual territory is covered: Gov. Brown’s proposed a $105 million budget increase for 14/15 and the station asks: But is it enough to help the judicial system bounce back? We also get what has become the most-quoted talking point from California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, “We are rationing justice, and it’s become more than a fiscal problem… it is in my view not a civil rights problem.”

Also cites is the failed statewide computer system, with the ABC report saying that “… eyebrows were raised over the $1.2 billion that was spent on a computer system overhaul — a computer system that never worked.” You can read more between the lines here: Budget woes: Can California’s judicial system recover from a five-year crisis?

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California State Budget, court access, crisis, Gov. Jerry Brown, Justice Rationing, Legal news, low-income

Beware Court-Styled Scam Artists

April 23, 2014 By CCM Staff

Superior Court officials in several SoCal jurisdictions are reporting scams that involve email or phone contacts alleging that somebody has missed jury duty or committed some other infraction, and owes money. Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego counties are among those where fraud has been reported.

Michael Roddy, Executive Officer of the San Diego Superior Court, offered some advice: “It’s important to reiterate to the public that we do not communicate with those with issues before the court via unsolicited email or telephone. If anyone tries to contact you regarding “missed jury duty” or cases of which you are unaware, you should delete the email or disregard the phone call.”

The NBC affiliate station in San Diego has this report.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, california courts, fraud, Judges, jury duty, scam alert, scams

‘Alliance’ Judges Continue Court Critique

April 22, 2014 By CCM Staff

The Alliance of California Judges, a group that offered a statewide voice to critics of how the courts are being operated, is continuing its critique. As the annual state budget season shifts into high gear, and with the state chief justice saying that funding has become a civil rights issue, the Alliance asserts that the very system of funding is flawed.

“Former Chief Justice Ronald George’s vision of a unified judicial branch — directed by a central bureaucracy, bound together by a massive computer network, housed in dozens of gleaming new courthouses, acting in unison with the Chief Justice at its head — has proven to be a mirage,” writes Maryanne Gilliard, a Superior Court Judge in Sacramento who has been active in the Alliance for years. In 2011, the Sacramento CBS TV news affiliate called her a “whistleblower” in connection with the failed attempt to consolidate the state’s court computers (see coverage here).

Writing in The Courthouse News, Judge Gilliard uses Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye’s own words in support of her point, in particular noting that the centralized vision has not led to stable funding and that the “CCMS” computer system’s $500 million is “the most prominent example” of poor oversight.

It’s the latest salvo showing that the Alliance remains active. Read it here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: alliance of california judges, California Budget, california courts, Justice Rationing, Legal news, Tani Cantil-Sakauye

$70m Shortfall Is Budget Cred Issue

April 11, 2014 By CCM Staff

There’s another issue surfacing in the upcoming knock-down, drag-out fight over the 2014-15 California courts budget, and it likely works against increased judicial brand funding. The discussion involves an Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) estimate that filing fees and other sources would bring $1.3 billion million into the courts – but now those estimates are though to be short $70 million.

The Courthouse News reports that “… much of that shortfall was due to a long-term decline in filing revenue which the administrators said they were well aware of.” That, in turn, has sparked a debate over the AOC’s budget credibility as court officials lobby for something like $300 million of increased funding in the next state budget.

You can read Maria Dinzeo’s well-detailed account here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), California Budget, california court cuts, court rationing, Legal news

Gov. May ‘Remake’ State Supreme Court

April 10, 2014 By CCM Staff

You can add “new supreme court” to the issues for Gov. Jerry Brown’s re-election bid. The Los Angeles Times is taking notice that three of the high court’s seven justices are in their 70s and the governor is already making a second appointment to the bench. He is replacing Justice Joyce L. Kennard – considered a “moderate” by modern court standards.

Photo: gov.ca.gov.co

The Times reports that “… he court, one of the nation’s most influential, has no Latino or African American, or anyone from Southern California. Brown faces political pressure to change that. Judges and lawyers are betting Brown will pick a Latino. Some analysts said they would not be surprised if he elevated San Francisco appeals court Justice James Humes, an openly gay lawyer who served Brown in the governor’s office and when he was attorney general.”

Of course, adds another longtime observer of both the court and the governor notes, Brown adds the wild card of “doing whatever he feels like doing.” It will be interesting if any of the potential candidates dare to make courts funding an issue in taking the job. Read the Times story here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Budget, california court cuts, California Supreme Court, court rationing, Gov. Jerry Brown, Legal news

Chief Justice Seeks Another $266m For Courts

April 8, 2014 By CCM Staff

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: California Budget, california court cuts, California State Budget, court rationing, Legal news, Tani Cantil-Sakauye