Responses to Governor's Proposed Budget For Fiscal Year 2013-2014

Letter to Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair, Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety—from Administrative Director of the Courts Steven Jahr (Apr 9)

Letter to the Governor—from Assemblymember Roger Dickinson,7th Assembly District (Jan 10)

In the Media

Mar 26, 2013
Solano County Courts feel pinch of belt-tightening
Vacaville Reporter
The effects of a $1 billion cut to the judicial branch in the past five years can be seen in Solano County Superior Court...The self-help center turns away 20 to 25 people a day and a backlog in civil cases means that parties now wait up to four months for a hearing, according to officials.

Mar 15, 2013
Editorial: State courts need reform and dollars to ensure justice
Sacramento Bee
Starved of funding and stymied in efforts to reform its own operations, the state of the judiciary is perilous. As Cantil-Sakauye told lawmakers this week, "What we once counted on – that courts would be open, available and ready to dispense prompt justice, is no longer the case in California."

Mar 11, 2013
Chief justice urges reinvestment in Calif. courts
Associated Press
"I submit to you in the most diverse state in the union, that a penny on the dollar is insufficient to provide justice," Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye.

Mar 11, 2013
Budget cuts, other factors causing court delays
Bakersfield Californian
Kern County Superior Court is down about 115 positions from last summer, McNally said. The state slashed $9.9 million this fiscal year from the county court system, and next year they're expected to lose $3.5 million to $3.7 million.

Mar 4, 2013
Superior Court to Eliminate Over 500 Positions in 'Consolidation'
Met News
The Los Angeles Superior Court will be forced to eliminate 511 positions in order to implement the budget-cutting “Consolidation Plan” it announced in November, Presiding Judge David Wesley said Friday.

Feb 21, 2013
California's Chief Justice Worries About 'Dismemberment of the Judicial Branch'
Courthouse News Service
"We continue to provide a forum for justice on an ever-shrinking, minuscule slice of the pie. For California, it means disparate access to justice, and in some [cases] it means no access to justice."

Feb 19, 2013
Viewpoints: Justice system in California is under budgetary assault
Sacramento Bee
Here in California, a state boasting one of the most sprawling and respected justice systems on the planet, the courts have been among the hardest hit arms of government during the recession...The impact is being felt from Del Norte County down through Sacramento and all the way south to San Diego.

Feb 11, 2013
More budget cuts may face Humboldt courts—Times-Standard
Operating expenses have been slashed to a level that makes it difficult to maintain minimal functions.

Jan 31, 2013
San Bernardino County: Supervisors Discuss Court Closures—Press Enterprise
Courts in Chino, Redlands and Twin Peaks already have closed...For many in remote areas of the 20,000-square-mile county, that means they will have to travel long distances to already-crowded courts if they want to dispute a traffic ticket or small-claims case or respond to a jury service summons.

Jan 29, 2013
Opinion: The Slow Death of Justice in California—Huffington Post
Let's break it down. Courthouse after courthouse is closing in California. In Los Angeles County, all courtrooms in 10 regional courthouses are closing.

Jan 22, 2013
That day in court may take a while—Capitol Weekly
Los Angeles announced in November the shuttering of 10 regional courthouses including those in Malibu, Pomona, San Pedro and Avalon on Catalina Island. Earlier in
2012, the state’s largest county announced closing 56 courtrooms by June 30 to close a $30 million operating hole.

Jan 20, 2013
Judges say courts under siege from budget cuts
Associated Press
"These are crisis issues," said (Chief Justice) Cantil-Sakauye, citing domestic violence, landlord-tenant matters and child custody cases. "Everyone expects courts to be there when they need them. When you need us, you need us desperately and immediately."

Jan 20, 2013
Judicial officials say it's time to restore California court funding—Sacramento Bee
"We've been cutting and slashing the justice system funding for several years now to the point where we're closing courtroom doors all around the state, and it's impossible to administer justice when you don't have adequate courtrooms and adequate judges and adequate staffing," (Senator Noreen) Evans said.

Jan 18, 2013
Council votes to delay Sac County courthouse project—KCRA
"The sheriff’s department does not have the manpower to actually get defendants up to the courtrooms," said Tom Asker, deputy Sacramento district attorney. "As a result, there are hourlong delays and the jurors are impatient and unhappy and there’s a waste of resources."

Jan 15, 2013
Upcoming closure of Lodi courthouse raises questions—Lodi News Sentinel
Although San Joaquin County Superior Court officials decided to consolidate services to the main downtown Stockton courthouse, questions remain about a lease the court has with the city of Lodi for use of the Elm Street court building.

Jan 14, 2013
Governor Brown’s ‘Crippling’ Budget Cuts to Force Court to Go Ahead With Shutdown Plans—Wesley—Met News
The Los Angeles Superior Court will continue to implement its previously announced plans to scale back its operations in light of Thursday’s budget announcement by the governor, Presiding Judge David Wesley said Friday.

Jan 11, 2013
Chief Justice, Others Decry Cuts in Brown’s Budget—Met News
'At first blush the governor’s new budget appears to maintain the status quo. Unfortunately, with the courts absorbing more than $1 billion in cuts over the past five years, the status quo…has been a disaster… And it’s the public–particularly the poor, the elderly, women, children, veterans–who suffer for it.”—Brian Kabateck, Consumer Attorneys of California.

Jan 10, 2013
Court reporters disappear from courtrooms because of budget cuts—KPCC
Court reporters, always easy to spot because of their distinctive steno machines, are disappearing from courtrooms but showing up in other places.

Jan 10, 2013
California Courts Given Reprieve in Budget—Courthouse News Service
"This budget doesn't answer our problems and our challenges," Cantil-Sakauye told reporters in a conference call Thursday.

News Video

Nov 16, 2012
"...in Northern California, massive budget cuts are making it close to impossible to get anything done at all.California state budget cuts cause delays, cuts in county court system."—ABC News10.net 

 

 

 

 

June 29, 2012
CA Budget Cuts Force Tulare Courthouse Closure
The doors to the Tulare courthouse will close for good at the end of August. The closure will force area-residents to travel either to Porterville or Visalia for their court cases as the county court system makes $3 million in cost-saving reductions.—ABC KSFN-TV