Courts Budget

Gov. Considering Major Court-Outsourcing Bill

October 3, 2013 By CCM Staff

The civil courts community is keeping focus on a bill that would regulate how the California courts outsource their functions. The bill, AB 556, passed both the assembly and state senate with comfortable margins but now awaits Gov. Brown’s signature to become law.

The debate, noted in The Courthouse News, boils down to how administrators want to replace court workers with contract employees. Presiding Judge Laurie Earl of Sacramento said in an interview with CN, “In our opinion this bill is an overreach, not only into our discretion but into good business practices to reduce costs at a time when we have less funding.” But, the report notes, “… from the labor point of view, contracting simply transfers public funds into private hands.”

“What you’re doing is exchanging wages and benefits for employees for a for-profit company,” said Michelle Castro with the union that represents many court workers. “The courts aren’t going to pay less money.” In its language, the CN notes, the bill conditions private contracts on a demonstration of savings.

You can read the report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: AB 556, California, California Budget, california court cuts, California State Budget, California Supreme Court, Gov. Jerry Brown, Justice Rationing

Jury Reform Ideas Beginning To Surface

October 2, 2013 By CCM Staff

With budget cutbacks and the threat of lawsuits over reduced justice access, you can guess that “court reform” is gathering steam as a key California issue. As part of that, you can add jury reform. Some ideas, and even proposed legislative action, are part of a Rosemary Jenkins column in CityWatch that very likely outlines the left-leaning view of future jury policy.

Jenkins, a regular CityWatch contributor who is also noted as chair of the Northeast Valley Green Coalition, spices up her policy observations with some first-person tales of jury duty. Her experience has the sound of truth, but it’s not exactly reassuring. She makes a case for non-citizens to serve on juries and calls for a new state law that will focus on “a jury of our peers” meaning more than just “those who did not evade jury duty.”

Of course, she is mostly dealing with criminal cases, not civil. But the jury pool overall is going to become an increasingly over-worked resource as more trials are held in centralized locations that require both seated and prospective jury members to travel longer distances. Read the ideas here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: california court cuts, california courts, court rationing, court reform, jury, Justice Rationing

Stat Report Getting Very Cautious Reception

September 26, 2013 By CCM Staff

That Court Statistics Report we’ve noted earlier is getting a very, very cautious reception in the justice community. Look for serious spinning later, but for now we’ll offer an example that illustrates the mood. The MetNews has a good story with highlights from the report, and this statement from Fourth District Court of Appeal Justice Douglas Miller, chair of the significant Executive and Planning Committee: “The Court Statistics Report is a useful reference document that provides an annual snapshot of statewide filings data and indicates multi-year trends… the raw data raises questions that require more in-depth analysis before drawing any conclusions.”

So there. Justice Miller, after noting that more analysis is required, also noted that minds are made up on a couple of things. “Although we’re uncertain about the conclusions, council members and our justice system partners are certain about how budget cuts have affected the public and have impacted access to justice—including reduced hours and closed courtrooms, fewer law enforcement officers on the street, and the reallocation of resources to focus on certain case types or services.”

Read the MetNews report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Budget, California Corrections, california court cuts, California State Budget, Legal news, statistics

San Joaquin Small Claims Court Re-Opens

September 25, 2013 By CCM Staff

Like many counties, including Los Angeles, the San Joaquin County Superior Court laid off workers and closed courtrooms in anticipation of budget cuts. Unlike many counties, including Los Angeles, that system is no re-hiring some of those workers and re-opening courtrooms. In particular, the county is resuming Small Claims Court, which was entirely stopped in the face of budget shortfalls.

Presiding Judge Dave Warner told the Stockton Record newspaper that “… they should have never stopped to start with, but at some point, when you run out of money, something’s got to give.” The paper also reported that “… the court also is in the process of rehiring 17 staff members who had been laid off during recent recessionary years. Since 2011, the court had reduced its staff by 55 positions.”

The first task? Dealing with 1,200 cases that have been filed but shelved because there was no court. Read the Record’s report here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, jobs, layoffs, San Joaquin, Small claims court, Superior Court

Caseload Report Out, Will Have Budget Implications

September 24, 2013 By CCM Staff

The California “Courts Statistics Report,” or CSR, is out, and this year the formerly obscure document is bound for new attention as it will become part of a new budgeting formula. In a desperate attempt to put some level of oversight into how the courts spend money, especially on the civil courts, the new budget laws will take into consideration caseloads as reflected in the report. In general, the overall Superior Court case filings are actually down overall, but most of that comes from relatively simple cases like small claims. The more resource-intensive complex cases continue to increase.

Doubtless more analysis of the information will be produced soon. At first read, it seems there’s plenty of information for virtually any political argument, depending on perspective. For example, are the more simple cases, which are more often filed by individuals rather than lawyers relative to more complex cases, “down” because we’re all getting along? Or are more people just walking away because we’ve cut assistance in filing such cases, or because they couldn’t endure the filing line.

Courts Monitor Publisher Participates In New Film

September 23, 2013 By CCM Staff

California Courts Monitor Publisher Sara Warner was interviewed last week for a new documentary by Wayne Ewing, the award-winning filmmaker perhaps best known for his series of biopics on Hunter S. Thompson, creator of “gonzo journalism.” Ewing has also produced and directed several political documentaries, including a pair of judicial-focused films in 2004 called “Benched” and “The Last Campaign.”

In text accompanying the interview, the filmmaker explains that he hoped to begin principal photography on a new project during a San Francisco legal conference, but that he was not admitted. However, he adds, Sara Warner was. Find the interview, and more about the documentary and Ewing Films, here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: asbestos, California, California Budget, California Corrections, california court cuts, california courts, civil court, court docket, Justice Rationing, mesothelioma

Long Beach Courts Move To New Public-Private Built Building

September 20, 2013 By CCM Staff

In an era of closing courthouses, a new one has opened. The $340 million, 531,000 square foot facility opened this week near the five-decades-old courthouse it’s replacing. It features two dozen courtrooms and will no doubt raise debate over how to pay for improved facilities. That is because it is the first to be built as a public-private partnership, complete with retail space.

The new Gov. George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach. (Photo was published in the Los Angeles Times article “No rats and no lines, new Long Beach courthouse opens for business” on September 9, 2013.)

The deal is that a group of real estate developers actually build the courthouse, paying for construction up front, and the state pays the cost plus interest over the next 35 years. Some critics of California’s court management say the public-private deal illustrates that the state is not all that great at building things. The Los Angeles Times covered the courthouse opening without noting the massive cost overruns of the state-only construction effort, but it did note that staffers were pushing leather chairs from one courthouse to the next.

Check out the story here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, California Budget, california courts, California State Budget, civil court, court rationing, Gov. Jerry Brown, Legal news

Litigation Rush Brings Another Firm To L.A.

September 18, 2013 By CCM Staff

The delays and backups in California civil courts might be hitting families and small-claims litigants hard, but the big boys continue to find the state a welcoming venue. The latest is DOAR Litigation Consulting, a complex-case consulting firm which announced that it both acquired a Houston-based firm and opened an office in downtown L.A.

From the company’s press release: “‘Lawsuits of major significance are being adjudicated in California and Texas,’ says Paul Neale, chief executive officer of DOAR. For instance, citing a 2013 Fulbright & Jaworski Litigation Trends Survey, Mr. Neale says 56% of U.S. technology companies faced at least one $20 million-plus lawsuit in 2012, a steep rise from only 18% in 2011. These firms are heavily concentrated in California’s Silicon Valley as well as in Austin, Texas. Across all industries, the number of companies facing at least one lawsuit where more than $20 million was at stake rose from 23% in 2011 to 31% in 2012, according to the Fulbright & Jaworski survey. The study also points out that the number of oil and gas companies reporting that 50 or more lawsuits have been filed against them over the past year has doubled to 27% since 2011.”

The company has other stats about California and Texas lawsuits, noting that area “… also popular venues for patent litigation filings. Nationally, the number of patent cases filed in 2012 soared 29% to a record 5,189 cases, according to PwC’s 2013 Patent Litigation Study, with Texas and California courts accounting for nearly 40% of them. The Texas Eastern Federal District Court in particular is perceived as “plaintiff-friendly,” and because patent holders are able to “shop” for favorable venues, despite efforts to deter the practice, it was the venue for 22% of all patent-related suits filed in the U.S. in 2012.”

For anyone waiting more than a year for fairly basic civil litigation to find a day in court, we can welcome DOAR to the waiting room. Find their press release here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, california court cuts, Judges, Legal news, patent litigation, Silicon Valley

ADA Case Tackles Major Access Liability Issue

September 17, 2013 By CCM Staff

If a person with disabilities is denied access in violation of the state’s Disabled Persons Act (CDPA), should they receive compensation just once for the violation or for each time they encountered the violation? A Long Beach resident is arguing the later, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is asking the California State Supreme Court for help understanding an “ambiguous” law. The case involves a paraplegic who sued over improperly curb cut-outs, and he argues that he should be paid for each time he encountered the problem. A lower court ruled the other way, awarding $17,000; he says the number should be $440,000.

The case might be seen as important in the wake of California court closures and cutbacks. One of the legal arguments against the changes is that people with disabilities are, in effect, denied access to the courthouses. As one observer noted: If they moved the wheelchair ramp across the parking lot, that would be a violation. So why not if they move it 25 miles away?” This case might imply that liability goes beyond a single penalty to include each time a person is denied access, a significant change.

As usual, Tim Hull at The Courthouse News makes the complex easy… read it here.

Filed Under: Cases, Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: Americans with Disabilities Act, California, California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California Supreme Court, Disabled Persons Act

California Courts Monitor ‘Special Report’ Update now on stands and available for download

September 16, 2013 By CCM Staff

When we published our printed “Special Report” earlier this year, it detailed a court crisis facing a difficult season. Sometimes, it seemed that the looming cuts, coming after years of cuts, were mostly positioning for the ongoing state budget battle. In addition to our daily online offerings, we promised to update the print report at the end of summer, so that’s what we did, and it is now available in local coffee shops and newsstands or you can download it by clicking here.

The takeaway? It was as bad, and sometimes worse, than expected. An environment of fear and insecurity only became more so. And we marveled at the number of people who would talk about courts issues, but only on condition we never name them. Think of that. These are people who are mostly afraid that judges — judges! — will actually punish them for voicing opposition. And some of those fearing retribution are lawyers.

In this Update, we have included more new material than we intended and highlighted one of our judicial profiles in a blatant attempt to show relevancy to a new audience — the national civil courts community. You can access the original here on our website or contact us directly at scw@californiacourtsmonitor.com for a printed copy.

And let us also say Thank You for the warm reception and backroom briefings prompted by our coverage. Our pledge is to get better and that our mistakes will be those of the head, not the heart.

Filed Under: Courts Budget Tagged With: California Budget, california court cuts, california courts, California State Budget, Civil Courts, court rationing, investigative report, Judges, Justice Rationing, transparency