California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye joined state lawmakers and other advocates for increased judicial funding today in Sacramento to unveil her three year blueprint for re-investing in the state’s courts.
The blueprint asks the state for more than one billion dollars in funding over the next three years. The Chief Justice says the state has been failing to provide a core governmental guarantee.
“When we can no longer guarantee timely access to justice, and we can no longer provide a litigant a courtroom in his or her community, of his or her peers, then we know that we are denying the protections of a democracy,” says Cantil-Sakauye.
She has commissioned a blue ribbon panel to study the effect of more than one billion in cuts to California’s courts over the last six years. Since then, she says, budget cuts have closed 51 court houses and 205 court rooms.
State Finance Director Michael Cohen says the Governor’s budget gives the courts $105 million this year. He says prior cuts are permanent.
![Dennis Goedegebuure, flickr](/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=186,height=140,fit=crop/media/1127431/fppc.jpg)
May 30, 2018Fair Political Practices Commission chairperson Jodi Remke announced Tuesday that she will step down on Friday. It follows months of acrimony with other commissioners.
![In this Jan. 3, 2018, file photo, California Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, announces that he will take a month-long leave of absence while an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him are completed in Sacramento, Calif. Steve Yeater / AP file](/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=186,height=140,fit=crop/media/10118039/022218TonyMendoza-p.jpg)
February 22, 2018His resignation followed an outside investigation, which found that Mendoza likely engaged in "flirtatious or sexually suggestive" behavior with six different women, including former staffers and fellows. The allegations date back to 2007.
![Members and staff of the California Senate Rules Committee prepare to meet in closed session on Friday, February 16, 2018, to discuss the sexual harassment investigation into Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Whittier). Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio](/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=186,height=140,fit=crop/media/10101471/senrules-021618.jpeg)
February 20, 2018A summary of the Senate’s outside investigation comes after the chamber’s Rules Committee met in closed session to discuss Mendoza’s fate for the second weekday in a row.
![Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, speaks at the Capitol Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. Rich Pedroncelli / AP / File](/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=186,height=140,fit=crop/media/9716389/2017 Laura Friedman AP P.jpg)
January 18, 2018New legislative efforts supporting the “Me Too” anti-harassment movement could change the reporting process for victims filing complaints.
![Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio](/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,width=186,height=140,fit=crop/media/9579526/102617CapitolP.jpg)
October 26, 2017Women in California politics, protesting sexual harassment and abuse at the Capitol, distrust the response from legislative leaders.
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