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.