Democrats starve the California court system

California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (Republican) speaks
out against the starvation of the courts by the Democrat controlled legislature.

Democrats STARVE the court system of money

• The Leftist and Socialist Democrat Party finds endless money to spend to line the pockets of union hacks, illegal aliens, welfare recipients or corrupt businessmen who give big campaign contributions to their party. . . . but no money for courts to dispense justice. 

California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye outlined the decimation of funding for state courts during the annual State of the Judiciary address.

"Justice requires a court," she said, lamenting the closures of courts up and down the state because of budget cuts. "But what we once counted on — that courts would be open, available and ready to dispense prompt justice — no longer exists in California."

During the last five years, California's courts have lost 65% of their general funding. Many courts have closed. Hours have been cut, and court fees have skyrocketed. Only 1% of the general fund goes to California's judicial branch, the largest court system in the nation, reports the Los Angeles Times.

"I submit to you that equal access to justice for 38 million Californians cannot be had for a penny on the dollar," the chief justice said in the televised address.

Because of court closures, some residents of San Bernardino County must drive two hours to get to a court, she said. Kings County resorted to holding a garage sale to try to raise money, she said. In Los Angeles, 67 courtrooms have been closed, and 500 court jobs have been lost.

The result has been "unconscionable delays" in getting a court date in civil matters, including divorce, contract disputes and discrimination cases, she said.

The situation is so dire that California, "normally a leader in social justice, may now be facing a civil rights crisis," she said.

Comrade Governor Jerry Brown's proposed budget does not restore any of the lost funding, and the court system has had to postpone rebuilding dilapidated and unsafe courthouses. Rising fines and fees for filings threaten to make California's court system "a user-fee institution" that particularly hurts those with lower incomes, she said.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was a really crappy Governor.  But his appointment of Tani Cantil-Sakauye as Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court was a good one.