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CA: The need for more judges is cited - State chief justice also backs raises
San Diego Union - Tribune ^ | 12/26/05 | Greg Moran

Posted on 12/26/2005 10:24:26 AM PST by NormsRevenge

When Laura J. Birkmeyer was officially sworn into office as a Superior Court Judge on Wednesday, she filled the last opening on the local bench.

But if state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George gets his ambitious legislative agenda through in the coming year, there could be more slots to fill in San Diego and other state courts.

George, the head of the state's judicial branch, is aiming to add more judges to the state courts and increase their pay. There are now 128 state judges in San Diego County, each paid $149,160 per year.

He also wants to change the state constitution to give the courts a more stable and predictable funding source and possibly change how soon some newly appointed judges face voters.

In his annual year-end meeting with the media last week, George said that increasing the number of judges is critical for the judiciary. He said that since 1980, the total number of judges in the state trial courts has increased by 20 percent. During that time the state population has ballooned by more than 50 percent.

That population growth has added more strain to state court workloads. Some areas of the state, such as the Central Valley and the fast-growing Inland Empire, feel the strain more than others,

For example, judges are so overwhelmed in Riverside County that, for the second year in a row, the court system there on Dec. 12 halted all civil trials until Jan. 20.

That was because the backlog of criminal cases – which take precedence in the courts because of legal time limits protecting criminal defendants' constitutional rights – had swamped the court's criminal courtrooms.

If a criminal trial does not begin within a specified time limit, the case has to be dismissed. Riverside County's population has increased by 20 percent since 2000, but the county's bench has grown by only a single seat.

George was dismayed that the court had to again halt all civil trials.

"That just illustrates the urgency of creating new judgeships," he said during a meeting with reporters in his San Francisco chambers. "This is at the top of my legislative priorities."

A bill that would create 150 new judgeships statewide has stalled in the Legislature. The measure would add 50 new judgeships per year over the next three years, George said.

That is still fewer than the 355 new judgeships a study commissioned by the state's Judicial Council – the policymaking arm of the court system that George heads – said is needed statewide.

While the judgeship bill languishes, George is moving the judiciary forward on a package of revisions that could end up before state voters in a constitutional amendment next year.

One provision in the proposal would guarantee that each of the state courts receives the same level of funding they got the previous year. George said this would ensure a stable funding basis for the judiciary, whose budget now fluctuates from year to year.

The proposal would also create a commission to set salaries for judges, similar to one that now determines how much legislators and statewide officeholders make.

George said it is important to boost pay to attract and retain judges, many of whom are leaving the bench for the allure of more lucrative private judging.

The package of changes would also alter the schedule for when new justices to the Supreme Court and state appeals courts would have to face election. Now, a newly appointed justice stand for a yes-or-no retention vote when the next gubernatorial election is held. The change would have justices serve at least two years before having to face voters.

George said the change would allow justices time to build up a record of decisions that voters could examine before making a decision.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; cited; judges; need

Ronald George
1 posted on 12/26/2005 10:24:27 AM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge
So, the teachers, cops, firefighters, etc have staked out their own gold mines & now it's time for the judges.

If the DA & judges didn't tolerate legal maneuvering, a lot of cases would never come to trial.

2 posted on 12/26/2005 10:42:23 AM PST by TheOracleAtLilac
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To: NormsRevenge

Empire builder.


3 posted on 12/26/2005 10:44:10 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: NormsRevenge
By the way,

But if state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George gets his ambitious legislative agenda through....

Now there's an interesting line.

4 posted on 12/26/2005 10:45:19 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: NormsRevenge
For example, judges are so overwhelmed in Riverside County that, for the second year in a row, the court system there on Dec. 12 halted all civil trials until Jan. 20.

We're in Riverside County, and they're apparently not so "overwhelmed" as to let a workload disrupt holiday weeks....wifey's been summoned to jury duty beginning tomorrow, and we already know that she won't be called in until Wednesday at the earliest - probably not at all this week, would be my guess.

5 posted on 12/26/2005 10:49:32 AM PST by ErnBatavia (I post in slang..live with it or ignore it - reader's choice.)
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

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