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California's 9.1 billion dollar reality check
Browsing All posts tagged under »Courthouse News Service«
Democracy Now!
Last week, the Judicial Council voted unanimously to deny emergency funding to the Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Mono Superior Courts. All three counties had bought into the Council’s predictions of a more generous judicial branch budget; now they find themselves running on empty. Del Norte was looking for $300,000, Mono for $82,000, and Siskiyou for […]
As usual, the AOC’s math just doesn’t add up. Time for an Audit.
March 12, 2014
A letter by Judge Kenneth So on Judicial Council letterhead dated March 7 was sent yesterday to every judge in California in a “Court News Update” email. Judge So claims that we’ve given you misleading information about how the AOC runs its business. We disagree, and we can back up what we said—with the AOC’s […]
Retreads and Denial – A Strange Way To Restore Credibility
February 3, 2014
In the aftermath of the CCMS debacle — a $500 million waste of taxpayer money that ranks among the costliest IT failures in American history — how should the judicial branch go about restoring its credibility with the Legislature and the Governor? One way would be to acknowledge the CCMS failure immediately; hold accountable those […]
Is the new open meeting rule…… open?
November 19, 2013
“I believe in absolute transparency.” * —Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, interview with Courthouse News Service, March 22, 2011. As most of you know, the members of the Judicial Council are appointed by the Chief Justice, and the Council meets several times a year. These meetings, at which the Council ratifies decisions which affect us profoundly, […]
Ron George’s legacy repair tour? He admits to intimidating the California Judges Association
November 16, 2013
The nice thing about having Ron George doing a legacy repair tour to promote his book is that he operates without his AOC handlers and does not control the message or the forum so while they might prove to be an interesting spectacle, we’re predicting these junkets will be short lived. ___________________________________________________________ November 14, 2013 […]
31 Courtrooms in Long Beach cost $2.3 billion over 35 years
September 26, 2013
September 26, 2013 31 Courtrooms in Long Beach cost $2.3 billion over 35 years Dear California Media, We write to highlight our continuing concerns about the Court Facilities Program. First we offer an editorial written by Milt Policzer of the Courthouse News Service regarding the Long Beach Courthouse, published September 23, 2013: ________________________________________________________ More Long […]
Judicial Council Again Opposes Reform
July 3, 2013
In signing the recent Budget Act, Governor Brown used a line item veto to eliminate the requirement that the Judicial Council open its policy meetings to the public. The Alliance thanks Speaker John Perez for his leadership and courage in seeking greater transparency in our branch by including this language in the Budget Act. The […]
Budget increase will not stop court closures
June 21, 2013
As you know, the new state budget for the Judiciary provides only $60 million for trial courts in new General Fund revenue for the year. Contrary to the hope expressed by some, this amount, though helpful, is not sufficient to forestall further court closures and service reductions. Keep in mind that this amount does not […]
Alliance Budget Updates & Judge White speaks with legislators
May 29, 2013
May 28, 2013 By now you have heard that last Thursday the Assembly and Senate Budget Subcommittees voted to provide an additional $100 million to the trial courts this year, and raise the reserved funds limit from 1% to 12%. The Department of Finance made it clear that the Governor opposes this increase and change. […]
Why are we so afraid of democracy?
April 22, 2013
April 19, 2013 Dear Members and Others, Below is an outstanding editorial from Bill Girdner, editor of the Courthouse News Service, that helps to illustrate the dysfunction of California’s judicial leadership structure. Until our Judicial Council is composed of independent judicial officers determined to make responsible decisions on behalf of the state court system, we […]
“Pay for View” was an AOC plan from the start
March 27, 2013
March 27, 2013 Dear Members and Others, We attach an editorial penned by Bill Girdner of the Courthouse News. Suffice it to say, our branch leaders have gotten the attention of those in the media who report on court cases and who believe in open government. The author voices a concern that we share — […]
Alliance special treatment to continue ?… and a conflicting message from Jahr
October 10, 2012
We’re guessing the ACJ isn’t privy to internal AOC Users – All email but if they were, they might be asking themselves…. what gives? Why is it that the Judicial Council and the AOC is doing one thing and saying another? Our response to such a question would be: In light of the continued re-arranging […]
AOC Raises skirted committee review
August 17, 2012
August 16, 2012 Dear Members and Others: As you know, the majority of AOC employees have received pay raises the past three years running. On June 25, 2010, then-Chief Justice Ronald George, reacting to public discomfiture over proposed AOC raises, announced the formation of the new “Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Financial Accountability and Efficiency […]
To Dither or Not to Dither – Thanks Justice Gilbert!
August 2, 2012
August 2, 2012 Dear Members and Others: We include for your consideration a commentary by Mr. Bill Girdner of the Courthouse News Service on the recent (but certainly not the last) SEC public comment period. Once again, the Courthouse News gets it exactly right. No wonder the AOC had a blanket policy of refusing […]
Telecommuting Lawyers KCRA 3 – Mike Leury and a reminder from ACJ
July 19, 2012
First up this evening is a news story about telecommuting lawyers from a few of our favorites, KCRA Channel 3, Mike Leury and Judge Marianne Gilliard of the Alliance of California Judges. A note to the AOC’s Ministry of Truth : Judge Gilliard’s delivery is going to have you all pining for your jobs. Link: […]
A short walk down memory lane…..
June 13, 2012
Let’s see if we can’t build on this list started by the Alliance of California Judges June 12, 2012 Dear Members and Others: We thought you might enjoy taking a walk down memory lane with the Alliance of California Judges as we consider some memorable quotes from the not-too-distant past, and some from the present. […]
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