procedural guides

California Courts Get a Much Needed Budget Boost

Governor Jerry Brown has delivered some good financial news for California’s court system, most especially local trial courts which have been hit the hardest by the cutback of the past. According to Howard Mintz’s piece in the San Jose Mercury News, “California courts get slight boost in governor’s budget.” The 2015-16 budget will be raised to $3.47 billion versus last year’s budget of $3.29 billion, with the majority of the increase earmarked for 58 trial courts.

The financial strain endured to date for courts in California has resulted in reduced hours for the public as well as employee layoffs, and in some instances, closing down courthouses all together. Governor Brown’s decisions have been supported by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who commented that “new investment and stabilized funding are the building blocks for court innovations and efficiencies.” One notable aspect of the budget increase allocation is that a portion will be directed toward supporting Proposition 47 which reclassifies some drug and theft crimes as misdemeanors.