Judges Order O.C. to Allot $23 Million to Courts

Sending a long-simmering battle into uncharted legal territory, Orange County’s top judges issued a court order Tuesday demanding that county officials allocate an additional $23 million to keep local courts operating at what they called a “sufficient level.”

The amount is far more than the $8.5 million that the courts tentatively agreed to receive through June under a deal worked out with county negotiators earlier this month. The deal, which would have deferred millions of dollars in capital projects and purchases, collapsed two weeks ago.

The order, signed by all six presiding judges and served to top county officials Tuesday afternoon, marks the beginning of a court fight that both sides described as highly unusual and potentially precedent-setting. County supervisors had voted hours earlier to mount a legal challenge to any such order.

“This is the first order of its kind that I am aware of,” said Theodore E. Millard, presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court. “The basic issue here is who controls the court’s budget. Is the [county] going to micro-manage it or are courts going to control it?”

Millard and the other judges contend that the county has failed to provide adequate funding for the courts to operate through the end of the fiscal year in June, a claim that county officials dispute.

The order seeks $13 million in money to cover salaries, services and supplies through June 30. The judges want $10 million more to cover technology and equipment upgrades, capital projects such as an airport-style security system for the Central Courthouse and 58 new positions that would be filled next year.

The judges originally sought $18.9 million in additional funding, but reduced the amount to $13.9 million earlier this year.

By contrast, county Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier’s office maintains that the courts require at most $2 million to continue operations through June.

Board of Supervisors Chairman William G. Steiner expressed surprise at the amount that the judges are seeking and questioned whether all the items were needed simply to maintain basic court operations.

“This is just another example of how their funding requests are a moving target,” Steiner said. “They are including millions of dollars for items that have nothing to do with whether they can try cases or administer justice.”

Hours before the judges’ action, the Board of Supervisors voted in closed session to immediately challenge any court order demanding additional funds. The case probably will be heard by a judge outside the county.

County officials have vowed to keep courts operating without interruption. Steiner said he will seek approval of some modest court funding increases at next week’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

Millard said he is optimistic that none of the county’s six courthouses will shut their doors.

The looming judicial fight marks one of the few times in California history that state judges and county government officials have gone to court over a funding dispute.

The court funding crisis stems largely from moves by the Legislature in recent years to allocate less state money for court operations, and to shift more of the financial burden of running state courts to the counties.

State law requires counties to provide the courts with “suitable” facilities and “sufficient attendants, heat, light, furnishings, equipment, stationery, supplies and other personal property for courtrooms and chambers.”