Chief justice thanks legislators for additional funding and asks for more

SACRAMENTO -- California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye thanked the Legislature for increased funding for the courts in the latest state budget. Then she chided them for taking so long.

Near the beginning of her late afternoon speech in the Assembly chambers on Monday, Cantil-Sakauye cited the "civility" of state lawmakers in contrast to the national debate. She also praised them for "navigating the great recession."

But she then took her audience to task for passing numerous reforms during years when the courts were also suffering from huge cuts.

"Before you renewed investment in the judicial branch, during the budget crunch years, the criminal justice system was reformed, and additional work fell upon the courts," Cantil-Sakauye said.

While the courts were dealing with "hundreds of thousands of refilings" coming from changes to the criminal justice system, she added, some basic tasks were neglected.

"In the great recession, civil cases unfortunately took a back seat to criminal matters," Cantil-Sakauye said, adding, "With additional funds, the courts will be better able to help those who have unfortunately left behind -- those seeking civil justice."

Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget introduced in January included the first significant increase for the judiciary in years. This was highlighted by $150 million in new money for court construction, operations and new initiatives. Under the current plan, half of this money goes directly to the Judicial Council for "discretionary" use.

While the draft budget comes from the governor's office, it is also the product of ongoing talks with the Legislature about its own priorities. Details of the final budget will be hashed out ahead of a June statutory deadline.

She then urged lawmakers to give financial support to three key ideas from the Commission on the Future of California's Court System, which she helped create in 2014, funded under Brown's proposed budget.

This includes a $19 million increase in funding for services to the four million unrepresented litigants in California each year, a $3.4 million boost to "move to a tech-based traffic ticket system that may also lead to decriminalizing minor traffic infractions," and $4 million for language interpreters.

"In California, we know that over four million litigants [annually] come to court without an attorney," she said. "In three quarters of civil cases, at least one side doesn't have an attorney."

She said that the court's current self-help programs have one million users a year, while the branches' self-help website received 4.3 million unique visitors annually.

The chief justice also renewed her call to phase out the current cash bail system in California and urged lawmakers to fund "a three-part civil justice reform initiative."

Cantil-Sakauye asked: "Is our current money bail system safe and is it fair?" She answered with an emphatic no, citing a 1964 report from then-U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

"He said about the money bail system then, that it is a vehicle for systematic injustice," Cantil-Sakauye said. "He said it is cruel and the cost of that system is needless. In 1964, that was pretty strong language. In 2018, it is a clarion call for justice."

Cantil-Sakauye did not mention SB 10, a bill that would phase out the current bail system, or an ongoing lawsuit challenging the bail system in San Francisco. Buffin et al. v. City and County of San Francisco, 15-CV4959 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 28, 2015).