California Corrections

Civil Costs Added To Double-Dip Red Light Ticket

October 21, 2014 By CCM Staff

Los Angeles TV station NBC4 is reporting about a “double-dip” situation involving civil assessments and those red light cameras. The problem focuses on what happens when the owner of the car in the photo is not driving the car. One family paid the $500 fine, but also noted that the owner was not driving. On the back, they said who was – and that driver got a second fine.

“… nearly 3 months after paying the ticket [the driver] received a letter from the court stating ‘as a result of your failure to appear’ … a civil assessment of $300 was added. Then this: “The court will refer this citation to a collection agency.”

In response to the NBC4 I-Team’s questions, the station said, the court is re-instating the original citation for Kim, ending the collections process and waiving the $300 fee for failure to appear. The courts are refunding $500 to the Kellys, and they’ve waived $300 in late fees for Kim. For those unable to interest a television news team in helping, there is some advice. If you get one of those tickets, and the owner of the car was not driving, just indicate that and send the document in – leave it to the courts to tell who was driving.

Read the story here: Family Alleges Court Double Dips on Red Light Citations

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California, California Budget, California Corrections, california court cuts, california courts, red light

L.A. Moves To Disassemble Part Of ‘School-To-Prison Pipeline’

August 20, 2014 By CCM Staff

As the nation watches racially heated events in Ferguson, Missouri unfold, the city of Los Angeles is going about disassembling what critics have called its “schools-to-prison” pipeline, ending policies that turned school issues into police issues. But the move is also a consequence of reduced juvenile court capacity, according to an official quoted in a New York Times article.

According to the NYT: “Michael Nash, the presiding judge of the Los Angeles Juvenile Courts, who was involved in creating the new policies, said that the juvenile justice system was overtaxed, and that the changes would ensure that the courts were dealing only with youngsters who ‘really pose the greatest risk to the community.'”

The NYT also reported that “… students 14 years old and under received more than 45 percent of the district’s 1,360 citations in 2013, according to the [Labor/Community] Strategy Center [a civil rights group] African-American students, who account for about 10 percent of the total population, received 39 percent of “disturbing the peace” citations, typically given for fights.” At one time, police in the program were issuing arrest citations for showing up late to school, a practice terminated in 2012.

Read the NY Times story here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Corrections, california court cuts, california courts, California State Budget, Civil Courts, court rationing, criminal justice system, juvenile court, juvenile detention, LA County Juvenile Court, Los Angeles courts, Los Angeles School System, minorities, school reform, school to prison pipeline

City Watch Hits Flat-Fee Juvenile Defense Issue

April 2, 2014 By CCM Staff

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: California Budget, California Corrections, Justice Rationing, juvenile justice, LA County Court, LA County Juvenile Court, Legal news

Juvenile Advocates Highlight Flaws In System

March 24, 2014 By CCM Staff

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: California Corrections, california court cuts, justice denied, juvenile justice, LA County Court, LA County Juvenile Court, Legal news

Civil Courts Not Even On 2014 Political Radar

December 2, 2013 By CCM Staff

Political observers are watching the not-subtle trial balloons for the 2014 political season, and in California’s statewide races the big news is that a former Goldman Sachs Group executive who ran President George W. Bush’s “Troubled Asset Relief Program,” or TARP, is likely to run for governor. It is interesting for civil court observers to note that the political liabilities attributed to Gov. Jerry Brown nearly always cite the prison overcrowding and other issues, but never the civil court cuts that destroyed our neighborhood justice system.

Bloomberg News, a Republican trial-balloon venue if there ever was one, floats it this way: “Neel Kashkari, the former Goldman Sachs (GS) Group Inc. executive chosen by ex-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to help rescue the U.S. banking system, is readying a challenge to California Governor Jerry Brown even as the world’s 10th-largest economy reaches its highest level in more than three decades… Kashkari, 40, who ran the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program under President George W. Bush, has assembled a team of Republican campaign strategists and is talking to potential donors about taking on the 75-year-old Democrat, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Kashkari.

A quick review of nine other stories about Gov. Brown’s challenge turned up no mention of the court cutbacks or layoffs. If anything, political pundits seem to lump the court issues into the wildly successful effort to balance the state’s budget. Granted, most of those supporting a courts revival are also likely to be Democratic voters, so perhaps they have limited options.

Here’s the Bloomberg story, which has excellent background details on the likely candidate’s divorce and home in Laguna Beach.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: 2014 election, bank bailout, California Budget, California Corrections, california court cuts, court rationing, George W. Bush, Gov. Jerry Brown, politics, TARP

Judge Says Court Closures May Bring Violence

October 11, 2013 By CCM Staff

Reduced access to civil courts will mean that people take the law into their own hands, including using violence in their disputes, according to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Phil Mautino, who is the supervising judge for the Los Padrinos Juvenile Court, told a Republican Lincoln Club group that personal injury cases are going to take five years to get to trial while for traffic court “there’s a line that circles around the building.”

“It means if you’re not going to court, you settle (the issue privately). It means violence. It’s like the old days of vengeance where if you kill my brother, I’ll kill your sister,” the judge told the Whittier Daily News in a recent report. “If you‘re willing to stand in line for a day or two, the officer may not show up [and] if you’re retired and plead not guilty, you have might have a good chance of getting off.”

The Whittier courthouse was among the eight closed this year while two others have very limited services. All traffic court cases now are heard at the downtown Los Angeles and Beverly Hills court houses, small claims is limited to five courts (Downey for the Whittier area), and landlord-tenant evictions are divided between four courthouses.

See the story here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Corrections, california court cuts, california courts, court rationing, court safety, court violence, domestic violence, Gov. Jerry Brown, Judges, justice denied, Justice Rationing, violence

Juvenile Court Issues Set For Dec. 4 ‘Summit’

October 8, 2013 By CCM Staff

Critics of how the Los Angeles Superior Court chose to close juvenile justice facilities may get a chance to air their concerns. The state court system is planning a Dec. 4 “statewide summit” hosted by Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

Called the Summit on Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court, it will bring experts to Anaheim to “… examine truancy and school discipline policies creating a ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ for California’s children and youth.”

The state website says the summit will be paid for, in part, by private companies but does not name the sponsors. Find out more here.

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: at risk youth, California, California Corrections, california court cuts, California Superior Court, Chief Justice, children, family, juvenile detention, kids, poverty, prevention

Sacramento County Superior Court faces ‘tremendous challenges’ according to newly elected Presiding Judge

October 7, 2013 By CCM Staff

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Robert C. Hight. (Photo credit: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO, COURT BULLETIN)

The Sacramento Bee reports that Sacramento Superior Court Judge Robert C. Hight has been elected as the court’s presiding judge, replacing the outgoing Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl. The two-year term begins on January 1, 2014.

“Our court faces tremendous challenges,” Hight said in a news release. “Over the past four years, the Legislature reduced funding for the Judicial Branch by $1 billion. For our Sacramento County Superior Court, this was a reduction of almost 25 percent, resulting in the loss of almost 200 staff positions. Unless next year has projected budget changes, we face further cuts. Our judges and dedicated staff have been asked to do more with less. Our challenge is to continue providing the citizens of Sacramento with access to justice that is fair, timely and open to all.”

Filed Under: Community, Courts Budget Tagged With: California Corrections, california court cuts, california courts, court rationing, Judges, justice denied, Justice Rationing, Superior Court

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

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