By Dave Rosenberg, presiding judge Yolo Superior Court

I appreciate the opportunity to serve my community as a Judge – been doing it now for nine years. But, increasingly, it’s becoming harder and harder to do the job that the constitution mandates me to do. That’s because justice requires more than a Judge – it also requires court clerks, court administrators, bailiffs, court reporters, jury commissioners, support equipment and an adequate space to conduct a courtroom. The state’s budget cuts have whacked all that. The Yolo Court’s staff has been reduced by more than 20 percent due to budget cuts, and we’re still waiting for our 11th Judge (a position that was authorized in 2007 but has never been funded by the State). You don’t cut one out of every five employees without impacts on our ability to serve the public.
As a Judge, I don’t control the spigot of cases that flow into my courtroom. That spigot is controlled completely by the district attorneys, plaintiffs, and petitioners who file cases, and the litigants that contest them. I just manage the case flow, make decisions, ensure that justice is applied fairly and evenly, and work to bring cases to a conclusion. But it’s frustrating for me, and my colleagues, to come to court every day and see long lines of equally frustrated folks waiting to file papers because clerk’s office hours are cut and fewer clerks can staff the public windows. I’m concerned about Nancy Q. Citizen who shows up at the clerk’s counter at 3:05 p.m. wanting to get a domestic violence restraining order only to find that the counter is closed due to our waning budget and declining staff. I know that Nancy is going to try to find a hotel room or sleep in her car tonight because she is afraid, and can’t get that restraining order till the morning. It’s disheartening to see hundreds of citizens wandering the courthouse hallways and sitting on courthouse steps because our jury assembly room only seats about 75. It’s embarrassing to visit my colleagues who are forced to conduct court in trailers because we don’t have sufficient courtroom space in a building for them. And it’s exasperating to know that the court clerk in my department, and many others like her with decades of experience, are retiring with early buyouts so that the court can save long-term money.
Judges may not control the spigot. But we are clearly the funnel. The cases for 38 million Californians, and 230,000 lawyers, must all pass through the funnel of just 2,000 judicial officers. And if I don’t have the resources and support to do my job, that trip through the funnel can be a tight squeeze.

These budget cutbacks are truly death by a thousand cuts for our system of justice.

Comments

comments