Court budget cuts undermine justice
For some of our most vulnerable citizens, California’s trial court system is the place of last resort for justice. With many of our existing protections and support systems under attack by the federal government, the last thing we should do is cut the funding for our judiciary system. Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for the courts would hurt the people the system is supposed to protect.
The proposed funding for our consistently underfunded and often overlooked trial court system will result in layoffs, reduce court hours and cut self-help services that the public relies on for equal treatment under the law. Since 2008, nearly 4,000 court staff have lost their jobs, more than 200 courtrooms have been closed and 2.1 million Californians have lost access to a courtroom in their community, causing many to wait longer to have their day in court.
These cuts undermine the fundamental right to due process in our legal system. In an age of uncertainty, and when mistrust in the federal government couldn’t be higher, the governor and Legislature have an obligation to ensure that the people of California have access to a fully functional court system.
These cuts have had major impacts on San Francisco’s justice system. In 2011, the San Francisco Trial Court laid off 67 staff and commissioners and closed 11 courtrooms. Due to ongoing state budget cuts, the court’s annual operating budget was cut from $96.4 million to $75.2 million between 2008 and 2013.
Underfunding the court system jeopardizes public safety. Our legal system relies on trial courts to issue temporary restraining orders and other vital court actions that help protect victims of domestic violence. Without new funding from the state, court hours will be cut and employees will be overburdened with work, which will cause delays in issuing time-sensitive orders of protection.
As new laws are adopted, our trial courts must grow alongside them to keep up with enhanced demand and unintended consequences. Last year, California voters approved Proposition 57, which increased parole chances for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes, and Proposition 64, which made it legal to use and grow marijuana for personal use. Additionally, AB2839 — signed into law by Brown in September — changes the way court-imposed fines are collected and dramatically increases workload for trial courts. All of the new laws call for the state to offset the enhanced workload on our court system, but Brown’s budget included no solutions to reduce the burden on our courts.
On behalf of the court clerks, reporters, managers and administrators who keep our courts running every day, we strongly encourage readers to contact San Francisco’s representatives in Sacramento — Sen. Scott Wiener, Assembly members Phil Ting and David Chiu — and urge them to increase funding for our trial court system in the revised state budget to be released in May.
We simply can’t afford to continue to underfund our trial court system during such a pivotal moment in our nation’s history — investing in the judicial branch is important now, more than ever. Raquel Silva is the executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Executives Association.