Judicial Council tags $2.3B for court restorations and discusses remote access

The California Judicial Council approved the allocation of $2.3 billion in trial court funding from the 2021--22 state budget during a virtual budget committee meeting Friday.

Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye and other council members voted to approve funds that will pay for everything from courthouse restorations to employee benefits.

The council allocated $2.259 billion to the trial courts from the Trial Court Trust Fund, including $167.8 million in restoration funding and $72.2 million in new funding, as well as $68.8 million from the state General Fund for employee benefits, and $50 million in the State Court Facilities Construction Fund for operation of the trial courts.

Justice Marsha Slough, chair of the Chief Justice's Ad Hoc Workgroup on Post-Pandemic Initiatives, said based on input received from justice partners and court user groups, remote access to judicial proceedings had clearly become an equal access to justice issue.

"We had one commissioner tell us with remote proceedings in her child support calendar ... when her court shut down and they went remotely, she experienced a 100% appearance rate with no defaults. All the years she's handled that calendar she has never seen that," said Slough, who sits on the 4th District Court of Appeal.

"We simply would be wrongheaded after all we've heard so far to unplug remote proceedings as a tool to be used in accessing justice in our courts," Slough added.

The council also allocated $72.2 million in ongoing funding for trial courts to address inflationary cost increases. Courts now face a 3.7% Consumer Price Index based increase, according to the council.

Administrative Director Martin Hoshino said parts of the judicial branch budget are awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature, including funding to help with shutdown related backlogs, eviction actions, and new online tools to help the public deal with traffic infractions.

The council approved submitting budget changes for fiscal year 2022--23 to the state Department of Finance. The proposals request additional funding for trial court operations, modernizing information technology, self-help centers, language access, appellate court-appointed counsel, court security, and courthouse construction and maintenance.

The committee also recommended the council approve the Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee recommendation for the Workload Formula allocation of $2.215 billion based on methodologies approved by the council. Assuming approval of the allocations, the Trial Court Trust Fund will end 2021-22 with a fund balance of $69.9 million, of which approximately $44.8 million will be unrestricted.

"I can say the budget provides much needed investment in the judicial branch through new funding and restoration," Cantil-Sakauye said. "Courts at all levels with our dedicated court staff have been dispensing justice for Californians, performing under enormous pressure, and leveraging technology amid the global health crisis."

"This budget also supports the Judicial Council created programs that aid the most vulnerable Californians, many of whom were hit the hardest by the pandemic," she continued. "The new and restored funding is critical to our courts."