Decimated court system faces new round of cuts
By Laura Ernde
Staff Writer
California’s judicial branch and its allies in the legal
community are starting off the New Year under a cloud of uncertainty over
further budget cuts.
Despite the passage of Proposition 30 – which is expected to
raise $6 billion a year for the state’s general fund – a fiscal deficit
remains. So the branch is anxiously waiting to find out what’s in Gov. Jerry
Brown’s proposed spending plan for 2013-14. The plan will be released Jan. 10.
Courts have been decimated by four years of cuts that have
reduced the judicial branch budget by about 30 percent, or $475 million. In
addition, the governor revealed to court leaders last month that he’s
considering sweeping out local trial court reserves one year earlier than
expected, which court leaders say would translate into an additional $200
million cut.
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye met with Brown last month
to convey the importance of giving trial courts until July 2014 to spend the
reserves so they can maintain an adequate cash flow and stave off further court
closures.
Court officials cannot control their caseloads, making it
difficult to deal with deficits, she said, pointing out that the judiciary has
the crucial role of enforcing the many important laws enacted by the
Legislature and signed by the governor.
“It’s like there’s a great big hole in the bag, and we are
trying to provide what Californians rightly believe is their birthright,” she
said.
Many counties have already eliminated all non-mandatory
spending, shuttered courthouses and reduced services. Litigants in remote
reaches of San Bernardino County, for example, will have to travel 175 miles to
the nearest courthouse starting in May. Los Angeles County Superior Court is considering
a major restructuring that would close 10 courthouses and consolidate all
personal injury cases to two judges.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Allan D. Hardcastle,
president of the California Judges Association, said additional cuts will “cripple
the branch.”
“We believe this puts us on the precipice of a
constitutional crisis,” he said at last month’s Judicial Council meeting.
But Administrative Director of the Courts Steven Jahr said
there was reason for some optimism after a sit-down between the chief justice and
governor, whom he described as “inquisitive, attentive and concerned.”
Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, who is a member of the
judicial council, urged the legal community to remain calm and predicted the
fiscal picture will improve over the next year or two.
“While there’s cause for alarm, I don’t think it’s time to
panic yet,” Evans said.
Every agency receiving state funds has undergone the same
analysis, and the Legislature and governor are faced with choosing “among an
array of bad decisions,” she said.
At the same council meeting, the judicial branch declared
the budget to be its top legislative priority for the year.
State Bar President Patrick M. Kelly has called
on lawyers to help raise awareness of the court funding crisis. The loss of
court access hurts not only the most vulnerable members of society but also
threatens the health of the economy. Small businesses rely on the courts to resolve
disputes quickly.
Meanwhile, Brown and Cantil-Sakauye have established a Trial Court
Funding Workgroup to evaluate how well the state has done in funding trial
court operations since taking over that responsibility from the counties with
the Lockyer-Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act of 1997.
The workgroup has held two meetings so far and its next
meeting is Jan. 10 at 2860 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento. A final
report to the governor and Judicial Council is due by April 2013.