BILL ANALYSIS
SB 56
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Date of Hearing: August 17, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
SB 56 (Dunn) - As Amended: July 13, 2005
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes an unspecified number of additional
superior court judgeships over three years, subject to
appropriation by the Legislature. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes an unspecified number of additional judges, for
appointment by the governor, in 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08,
respectively, upon appropriation by the Legislature in each of
those fiscal years.
2)Requires that the additional judgeships be allocated among
counties based on specified criteria.
3)Requires-when a vacancy occurs within an eligible superior
court in a subordinate judicial officer (SJO) position, and
the Judicial Council files notice of the vacancy with the
Secretary of State-that the position be converted to a
judgeship.
4)Requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an
unspecified number of subordinate judicial officer positions
be converted to judgeships per (3).
5)Requires the Judicial Council, by January 1, 2007, to adopt
standards and measures to promote the fair and efficient
administrative of justice, including specified subjects, and
to report annually to the Legislature on these standards.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)According to the Judicial Council, the average cost for each
new judgeship is $755,000 annually, with variations by county
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depending on costs of support staff and facility needs. This
amount includes the salary and benefits for a new judge
($172,000) and for 5 support staff and 1.1 bailiffs
($389,000), and associated office space, operating expenses
and equipment (including facilities and court security costs)
for the judge and staff ($194,000).
(An earlier version of the bill proposed adding 150 judgeships
in equal increments over three years. Upon full
implementation, the annual cost of 150 judgeships would be
about $113 million.)
2)For each conversion of an SJO position to a judgeship, the
additional annual cost, based on salary differences between
the two position, is approximately $30,000. The total cost to
convert the 161 current SJOs would therefore be $4.8 million.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The Judicial Council reports that the state faces a
"judicial gap" that portends a number of disturbing long term
consequences: a significant decrease in Californians' access
to the courts; compromised public safety; an unstable business
environment; and, in some courts, enormous backlogs that
inhibit fair, timely, and equitable justice. According to the
Council, the number of trial court judges has not kept pace
with population growth and the resulting increased demand on
the courts. Between 1990 and 2000, California's population
grew by over 16%; yet the number of new judgeships created by
the Legislature grew by less than 3%. This imbalance is
demonstrated by the following examples provided by the Council
in support of this legislation:
a) In Butte County, between calendar 2002 and 2004,
felonies increased 22 percent, misdemeanors increased 8.6
percent, and juvenile dependency filings increased 40.2
percent.
b) In Kern County, since 1995, juvenile dependency cases
have increased 93 percent and overall juvenile filings have
increased 35 percent.
c) In Kings County, since 2001, felonies have increased 71
percent, juvenile delinquency cases have increased 4.5
percent, and writ filings have increased 32.5 percent.
d) In Placer County, overall court filings increased 9.6
percent from 2003 to 2004.
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e) In Riverside County, in fiscal year 2003-2004, felony
filings increased 5.2 percent and traffic filings increased
5.7 percent. There has also been a 9 percent increase in
new family law and domestic violence cases in the past 5
years.
Some of the consequences of this judicial gap, according to
the Council, include the following:
a) In June 2004, Riverside County suspended all civil
trials to address a backlog of criminal trials.
b) In Fresno County, 19.4 percent of civil cases that are
currently pending were filed prior to 2001.
c) In Sacramento County, civil litigants must wait up to 18
months for trial.
d) In San Bernardino County, each direct calendar judge has
875 cases pending trial, law and motion, or other hearings.
The Council asserts that passage of SB 56 will reduce court
backlogs, promote the speedy resolution of civil disputes,
increase public safety, and foster a stable environment for
state businesses.
1)Need For Converting SJO Positions To Judgeships : According to
the Judicial Council, because of the lack of authorization for
new judgeships since 1988-89, the court system has met its
workload demands by appointing commissioners and referees to
act as temporary judges. The Council notes this is not a
viable long term solution, however. Increased reliance on
SJOs has resulted in many critical court proceedings being
heard by judicial officers who are not accountable to the
public. Statewide, SJOs typically spend an average of 55% of
their time serving as temporary judges; in large courts the
proportion is 75% to 80%.
In theory, SJOs are appointed to perform "subordinate judicial
duties," such as hearing small claims cases, traffic
infractions, and certain civil discovery issues. In practice,
however, many SJOs act as de facto judges and hear misdemeanor
and felony cases, family law matters, and civil cases, limited
and unlimited, upon stipulation of the parties. The Council
reports that where parties have refused to stipulate to the
use of an SJO, cases must be re-calendared, thus adding to
court congestion.
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2)Opposition . The Service Employees International Union and the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees,
while recognizing the need for an adequately staffed trial
court system, question the priority of adding judgeships given
the state's current fiscal situation and the resulting budget
cuts to education and social service programs.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081