(SACRAMENTO) Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. (D-Los Angeles), Chair of the California State Assembly’s Sub-Committee # 5 on Public Safety, announced the committee’s approval of $100 million in increased funding to establish fiscal accountability and transparency of the state’s judicial system.
“This funding will help restore the access of the public to the judicial system” said Jones-Sawyer. “The lack of funding for court interpreters, court reporters, clerks and court staff to assist in everything from filing court documents to providing information, has created devastating delays of time, familial disruptions and continued fiscal hardships.”
Budget cuts have forced courts across the state to reduce staffing and hours, reducing public access to the judicial system and dramatically increasing the median time from the filing of a case to when it is heard in court.
Since 2007, for example, in Alameda County the time to have a small claims case heard has nearly doubled from 59 days to 101 days. In Lake County, civil and family law cases now take between 60-75 days longer to have their cases heard. In Sacramento County, where 70% of the family law litigants use the self-help services, the in-person, self-help services were shut down in 2012, resulting in almost no help with forms, and huge delays for anyone then seeking help over the phone, or email.
Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer took the additional steps of adding fiscal accountability and transparency measures with the increased funding to ensure that it will be used for vitally needed public access to court services by the public.
“Accountability and transparency is needed at all levels of the judicial system to ensure that public funds are used in accordance with the court’s management plans” said Jones-Sawyer “The additional funding will be dispersed based on local needs, as outlined in the cuts identified by the judges written plans to be submitted to the legislature and that will ensure increased public access to justice.”
The budget funding proposal and accountability measures will now head to the floor of the California State Assembly for approval.
Assemblyman Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. represents the 59th Assembly district, which covers areas of Los Angeles and the communities of Huntington Park, Walnut Park and Florence-Firestone.