Hard Choices for the Court

Keeping the gargantuan Los Angeles Superior Court afloat is like trying to keep water in a leaky bucket. No sooner do you plug one hole then water spurts from another. The state’s budget woes, which could leave the court $57 million short, could open a real gusher.

The largest trial court in California has 613 judges, commissioners and referees, along with 5,800 clerks, bailiffs, interpreters and other employees who staff courtrooms from Long Beach to Lancaster. Since the mid-1990s, nearly all of the court’s $600-million annual budget has come from the state, although the county is responsible for maintaining the courthouses.

But now, with state tax revenues tanking, the court, along with other state-funded agencies, is taking a big hit that could undo much of the hard work of local court officials to better serve the public.

For example, the Superior Court this summer finally replaced the old 10-day term of jury service with a countywide requirement that jurors serve just one day unless they are assigned to a trial.

That shift has required the court to retool its computerized summons process and tap additional staff.

As a shortage of judges grew worse, the court’s leaders lobbied Gov. Gray Davis to fill vacancies, and he has appointed several new judges.

Another worthy innovation is specialized courtrooms in Los Angeles that address the issues of mentally ill teenagers, domestic abusers, drug offenders and the homeless. All are designed to coordinate legal and social services for individuals whose drug addictions or mental problems leave them on the street or in police lockups. The state budget crunch could threaten these innovative efforts, adding to the burden for county law enforcement agencies and increasing caseloads for welfare and mental health care workers.

Keeping these specialized courts in place is surely preferable to recycling folks back into jail. And undoing the one-day, one-trial system is unthinkable to potential jurors. Court supervisors have hard choices to make and shouldn’t automatically eliminate the newest programs first.