Los Angeles Courts Need Help Now
The Los Angeles Superior Court faces a $79 million budget deficit this year, which is expected to reach $140 million by the 2011-12 fiscal year.
The Judicial Council of California has said, “The cuts will require an unacceptable reduction in access to justice for the public. There will not be sufficient resources to address all the criminal, family, and business matters that come to the courts.”
The Impact of Layoffs on the Citizens of Los Angeles:
Plans to eliminate 1,800 jobs by 2013 will reduce the court system’s workforce by 34 percent. That workforce loss translates to:
- 180+ courtrooms permanently closed and the effective closure of 9 complete courthouses.
- More than half of civil courtrooms, and nearly one-third of the family and children's courtrooms, will be closed permanently.
- Traffic operations may be cut by as much as half and collections will suffer, further reducing revenue.
Currently, civil cases such as divorce proceedings and lawsuits take about 16 months to complete. With the planned cuts, those cases will take four-and-half years to wrap up.
Budget issues at the Sheriff’s department have lead to criminals being given early release. This problem combined with severe delays in criminal trials and the ability of police officers to get court services such as access to judges to procure search warrants means more criminals on the street.
Children in foster care will be some of the hardest hit by these cuts. Already, a program vital to protecting the 400 most vulnerable children in the system, Court Appointed Special Advocates, has been hit with crippling budget and staff cuts that will make it almost impossible for the program to continue to function in its watchdog role. This means more kids will be left in dangerous situations without an advocate.
In addition, Los Angeles’ nationally-acclaimed Adoption Day has been cancelled, leaving foster kids to languish for months or even years in the system while adoptive families wait to bring them into stable homes.
A recent economics study by Micronomics, Inc., concluded that budget allocation reductions already imposed by the Judicial Council on the Los Angeles Superior Court will, in the next four years:
- Cumulatively damage the state and local economies by $30 billion
- Lead to more than 155,000 lost jobs
- Reduce state and local tax revenues by about $1.6 billion.
We can avoid the catastrophic lapse in justice that these cuts will cause:
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has more than $100 million available in the trial court trust fund, which is the fund for court operations. This money could be used to help the L.A. court system avoid drastic and devastating cutbacks.
Senate Bill 1407, signed into law on September 26, 2008, launched an unprecedented courthouse-rebuilding program in California. The law created a revenue stream from court fees, penalties, and assessments to finance courthouse construction and renovations. These extra fees and fines are bringing in $83 million a year in L.A. County, money that could be given to operations.
The Administrative Office of the Court is also implementing a statewide computer system estimated to cost $1.75 billion, 35 percent more than the agency said it would cost in original projections. This money could also be used for court staff and operations, a much more vital component to the continuation of fair justice.
