ABA Notes California Courts Crisis
The American Bar Association is taking note of the civil (and non-civil, for that matter) courts funding crisis in California. The nation’s premier legal professional organization led an online report with “… California has cut so much money from the courts budget that some people may be discouraged from using the system, according to the stateās chief justice.” The ABA report, based on an interview with the Los Angeles Times, notes that 50 courthouses have been closed and 3,900 full-time positions eliminated in recent years ā the interview was timed for release just before California Governor Jerry Brown released his latest budget draft today (Tuesday, May 13.)
The LA Times reports “Budget cuts have forced citizens in California’s largest county to drive farther and to spend more hours at the courthouse, while overworked staff try to keep up.” Source: Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times
Our sister website, the California Courts Monitor, reports that early media reports do not even mention courts funding and that courthouse works and others are huddling to determine “next steps.” While the new budget does increase state courts funding, it remains hundreds of millions of dollars short of what court leaders say is necessary to overcome years of cutbacks.
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. in an interview with theĀ Cutbacks in California court system produce long lines, short tempersĀ that was cited by the ABA, says fights are breaking out in court lines and people can’t re-marry because divorce is taking so long.
