Legislator-lawyers prominent in pandemic response committees

The California Legislature created two committees to coordinate a response to the coronavirus and its economic fallout — and stocked them with lawyer-legislators who will give focused attention to court funding.

On Wednesday, Senate pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, announced the creation of the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response. It’s 11 members include five attorneys.

“I don’t know if that was intentional,” said one of these attorneys, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in an email. “But the committee clearly will be dealing with some very difficult issues about our response to the pandemic and how we move through and past it.”

Sen. Tom J. Umberg, D-Santa Ana, had a clear message for other members of his profession when reached Thursday.

“I’m hopeful that members of the bar will demonstrate professionalism in light of this crisis in terms of trying to resolve issues without the intervention of the court, and that judges will admonish and sanction those lawyers who aren’t professional and don’t resolve informally questions that are obvious during the crisis” Umberg said.

This is because courts are going to take a hit in terms of revenue and workload. There is a “deluge of unlawful detainer cases” and other litigation coming due once the courts are back in session, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban on evictions is scheduled to run out May 31. Even when courts do come back, there will be a greater emphasis on dealing with delayed criminal matters.

Meanwhile, revenues are falling, Umberg added. But with the income tax return deadline extended from April 15 to July 15, it will be difficult to know by how much.

“We’re not going to have clear figures, but nevertheless we are still going to have to pass a budget by June 15,” Umberg said. “Court funding is going to be a challenge, but I personally think it is going to be one of the most important things that we can do as a government, which is make sure there is access to justice.”

The pending drop in revenues come after a recent jump in court funding that has allowed the system to take on a backlog of construction and maintenance while investing in new technologies, such as that now being used for videoconferencing some hearings.

Courts were slated to receive $4.2 billion in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s draft 2020-2021 budget, up sharply from the $3.7 billion they received in 2018-19.

“While the financial picture for the courts is still uncertain, we know to expect the budget will look very different from what was proposed in January,” said Judicial Council spokeswoman Merrill Balassone in an email.

Umberg — who still maintains a practice as a partner with Umberg Zipser LLP, a business litigation firm in Irvine — said he doesn’t know exactly what the committee will be dealing with first or what thorny legal questions it may take on. But he said the Legislature must make it a priority to create clearer emergency procedures for the courts and State Bar in time for “the next crisis.” He added that attorneys have been calling him with questions about deadlines and other areas of confusion.

Other attorneys on the committee include Senators Anna M. Caballero, D-Salinas, Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara.

Caballero is also one of three attorneys on the Senate Special Budget Subcommittee on COVID-19 Response, announced last week, which met for the first time Thursday afternoon. The agenda did not contain a specific agenda item about the courts of the Department of Justice. But it painted a grim picture.

“Realistically, it will probably take several months to get a clear idea of the budget situation,” Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek told the committee. He went on to say the economic impact was “potentially on bar with the downturn we saw in the Great Recession,” “will persist for several budget cycles” and “exceed the state’s reserves.”

The California Law Revision Commission also announced on Thursday it would hold a meeting May 21 to discuss “vetting certain types of pandemic-related reforms for expedited recommendation to the Legislature and governor.” According to an April 6 memo circulated by the commission, some of the most urgent items include updating rules on issues as diverse as teleconferencing and estate planning.

The memo also mentioned the need to extend expiring sunset dates. For instance, Sen. Richard D. Roth, D-Riverside — also an attorney and budget subcommittee member — introduced SB 1305 in February. It would extend the sunset date for an important state inheritance law.