Money for court case backlogs will likely leave them treading water

Money intended to help courts address their case backlogs probably won’t have its intended effect, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office has warned.

“Governor’s proposals are not likely to lead to significant increase in service levels,” the agency warned Thursday in its analysis of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed courts budget.

Instead, the report warned, this money will probably leave many courts treading water. The report notes $50 million was added to the courts budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year to help deal with case backlogs. But this only partly offsets a $177 million budget reduction for trial court operations.

Newsom’s proposed 2021-22 budget includes “a $72.2 million ongoing augmentation to trial court discretionary funding,” the report states. According to a summary release by the governor’s office last month, “This funding will assist courts in continuing to provide fair and timely access to justice, including taking actions to continue making modifications to improve court processes.”

However, the new legislative analyst’s report warned, “The pandemic will continue to result in reduced trial court service levels (such as case backlogs) beyond the budget year, despite various actions taken to minimize the pandemic’s impact.”

Later, the report states, “The expiration of $50 million in one-time funding provided in the current year means that trial courts could need to reduce expenditures by at least a further $50 million in 2021-22. Accordingly, a large portion of the proposed $72.2 million would be used to avoid further reductions in service levels.”

Continued social distancing guidelines will probably reduce the number of trials courts can hold, the report warned, while staff furloughs and service cuts put in place to help reduce costs will make it more difficult for some courts to catch up.

The Judicial Council was closed for court holidays on Friday and Monday. Staff could not be reached for comment.

The report from Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek’s report described how the courts have been hit with an ongoing slowdown in their basic work at the same time they needed to spend extra money to enable virtual court hearings and physically protect people on court property. The analysis showed state support for the courts in 2021-22 would be about $57 million higher than the previous year, but still $105 million lower than in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

If the report had good news, it’s that the judicial branch’s efforts in recent years to modernize operations and provide remote and self-help services had paid off during the pandemic. But with money in short supply, the report also recommended limiting spending in these areas.

For instance, Newsom’s courts budget includes $19.1 million for court self-help centers and $12.3 million for online adjudication of infractions. This latter number would jump to $58.4 million in the 2024-25 budget year.

“We find that both proposals promote equity,” the report found, but added, “However, in both cases, the Legislature has not received complete evaluations of the proposals required in prior years and is thus unable to fully understand their costs and benefits. Accordingly, we recommend providing the requested funding on a limited-term basis pending the receipt of evaluations to inform future legislative policy and funding decisions.”

The legislative analyst plays an important role in budget negotiations. Anita Lee, the agency’s principal fiscal and policy analyst, is a regular presence at budget hearings for the courts, Department of Justice and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Lee’s role is often to push legislators to spend less money. Unsurprisingly, they often ignore these warnings. For instance, during budget hearings in 2019, Lee suggested lawmakers address workload imbalances in the state courts by reducing the number of judges on some urban courts, an idea many urban lawmakers have repeatedly shot down.

While such sweeping changes are unlikely, the analyst’s report warns a conversation about the fundamental role of the courts may be necessary.

“We recommend the Legislature broadly consider the level of service it desires from the trial courts relative to its other General Fund priorities,” it urged.

The report added, “The Legislature could determine that preventing further reductions in service levels or growth of backlogs are the highest priority. To achieve this priority, the Legislature could consider redirecting to trial court operations, on a one-time or ongoing basis, $52.4 million proposed by the governor for trial court facility maintenance, utilities and leases.”