Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

13 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

17 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

17 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

18 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

18 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

18 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

18 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

18 hours ago
Money Woes Vex California's Massive Court System, Invite Intervention
By admin
Published 3 years ago on
March 20, 2022

Share

 

The COVID-19 pandemic’s corrosive effects on California’s public education system are obvious.

The state’s nearly six-million K-12 students were forced into jerry-rigged remote classes for months and even when schools reopened they have been plagued by political conflicts over whether students should be compelled to wear masks and/or be vaccinated.

Pandemic-Induced Turmoil

These arguments continue but there’s no question that two years of education turmoil have eroded learning and widened the already yawning “achievement gap” separating poor and English-learner students from their more privileged peers.

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

Public schools, however, are not the only major institution adversely affected by the pandemic and one of the most damaged has been California’s largest-in-the-nation, 1,800-judge court system, which also endured shutdowns and makeshift remote operations.

Courts were already hurting when the pandemic struck, inundated by millions of civil and criminal cases that strained physical and human resources to the breaking point, managed erratically by a central bureaucracy overseen by the Supreme Court’s chief justice, and battered by a fierce internal squabble over money and priorities.

The courts’ problems have not gone unnoticed by Capitol politicians, but in theory, they are an independent branch of government so the governor and the Legislature cannot easily intervene. That said, this year’s version of the annual state budget process could see a change in the Capitol’s traditional hands-off approach to the courts.

Court officials are seeking many millions of dollars to continue a years-long program to replace courthouses because the fees and fines that were expected to repay construction bonds have declined sharply and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget agrees. However, there are indications that the Legislature may insist that the Judicial Council and the Administrative Office of the Courts cede control of the program.

Court Construction Program Under Scrutiny

Last month, the Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, issued a sharply critical report, advising lawmakers that if the state is to rescue the insolvent construction program and increase operational funds, it should have more say in how the money is spent, rather than allow the court bureaucracy to spend as it wishes.

“Our concern is there is a longterm solvency issue in this construction fund that is not proposed to be addressed,” a senior Petek aide, Anita Lee, told lawmakers in a recent hearing. “The insolvency will likely require significant General Fund resources on an going basis; at least $200 million annually for a decade to pay for the debt service for already completed courthouses.”

Such intervention is not unprecedented because court administrators have gotten themselves into financial hot water in years past, most noticeably by spending a half-billion dollars on what was supposed to be a high-tech, statewide case management system that never worked. The Legislature finally stepped in to cancel the project before even more money went down a rathole.

Complaints Over Centralized Control

Centralizing what had been county-level courts into one statewide, state-financed system was the brainchild of former Chief Justice Ron George, who also championed the massive courthouse construction program and the case management system.

The Legislature endorsed the conversion two decades ago but it has been troublesome from the beginning. Local judges complained that the San Francisco-based Administrative Office of the Courts played favorites in doling out money as well as botching the case management system and relying on unrealistic revenue assumptions to finance the construction program.

One group of critical judges even formed their own splinter group, the Alliance of California Judges, to counter the California Judges Association and the rest of the judicial establishment, including the Judicial Council, a policymaking panel headed by the chief justice. The recent legislative moves to exert more influence appear to parallel the Alliance’s complaints.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

11 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

11 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

11 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

12 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

12 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

12 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

13 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

13 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

13 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

14 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

10 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
10 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
10 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
10 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
11 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
11 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

11 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
12 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend