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California's 9.1 billion dollar reality check
Browsing All Posts filed under »Administrative Office of the Courts«
31 Courtrooms in Long Beach cost $2.3 billion over 35 years
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 […]
Is the AOC is contracting with entities that don’t appear to legally exist?
September 10, 2013
One of the things that has shocked us over the years is how the AOC contracts with a multitude of entities that 1) Don’t appear to be legally formed or exist or 2) that they seemingly hire or otherwise engage hundreds of new law firms every year across California. The latter serves to bolster their […]
AOC pay raises hurt branch credibility, undermine efforts to restore court funding
August 28, 2013
AOC pay raises hurt branch credibility, undermine efforts to restore court funding. Branch leadership is now claiming that the recent Judicial Council pay raises granted by the Chief Justice are simply “merit salary adjustments.” In reality, these are discretionary and ill-timed pay raises that are siphoning funds needed to operate our courts, undermining public confidence […]
We will soon be spending more than we will be taking in on court construction?
August 19, 2013
“Soon, we will be spending more on court construction than we will be taking in” I know I saw this statement recently in a news article and as I recall, it was made by the AOC’s newest finance wizard. I guess it took a few days to sink in and realize that when the judicial […]
Governor endorses near secret JC deliberations of the publics business.
June 28, 2013
If there was any reason to veto a requirement that the judicial branch hold meetings open to the public, it should have been because such meetings were governed by an ineffectual rule of court and not codified in statutes. Without disclosing sound reasoning, governor Jerry Brown line-item-vetoed the requirement that the judicial branch open up […]
Artificially increasing the odds of “Not Reasonably Likely”…..
June 22, 2013
In another thread MaxRebo presents a suitable cause\effect analysis of the politically astute Cantil-Sakauye‘s (HRH-2) offensive renaming of the Star Chamber conference center as the William C Vickrey conference center. I’ll add to that mix the offensive renaming of the Ronald M. George state office complex. Besides the fact that these characters are still above […]
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 […]
Welcome to June. Welcome to change.
June 4, 2013
It’s a new month and with it come some significant changes. For the past eighteen months or so, we’ve covered less of the story ourselves and have relied upon both our own aggregation of judicial branch news as well as aggregation with your invaluable assistance. The reasons for this was that our resources were redirected […]
As Transparent As An Iron Curtain
May 6, 2013
May 6, 2013 Dear Members and Others, First, we apologize for the length of this communication. We deem it necessary, however, to place in context what has become the standard operating procedure by branch leaders to refuse to disclose public information. In particular, reasonable requests for information from judges associated with the Alliance have been treated in […]
The Armchair Quarterback’s Commentary
April 1, 2013
Let’s start out with proposed laws: Bob Wieckowski as proposed AB 666 which is being referred to in some circles as “The Devil’s Bill” because it strips the responsibility of adjudicating red light camera cases from the courts and makes them administrative hearings in front of the town that put the cameras up, much like […]
“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 — […]
The End of the Line for Reform
March 6, 2013
March 6, 2013 Dear Members and Others, The fallout continues in the wake of the Judicial Council’s decision to repudiate the recommendation of the Chief Justice’s Strategic Evaluation Committee that called for the demise of the AOC’s generous telecommuting policy. We attach an opinion piece from Courthouse News editor Bill Girdner commenting on this extraordinary, […]
Ushering in A New Era in Continuing Judicial Education & Dialogue
March 3, 2013
Palo Alto, California (YenWire) Ushering in A New Era in Continuing Judicial Education & Dialogue Recently concluded earlier this afternoon was a fascinating judicial education program brought to California’s judiciary by the Alliance of California Judges. Produced by George Mason University School of Law, it was a part of their Mason Judicial Education Program concentrating […]
February JC Meeting Wrap-up
March 2, 2013
In the AOC led agenda the Judicial Council again entrusted telecommuting policies up to the overall discretion of AOC management. Although this new policy is more restrictive it continues to offer telecommuting from home based on managers discretion. How long before we discover that we have AOC lawyers working from the Cayman Islands, the Isle […]
Discussion on Private Committees & Court Case Mangement Systems
February 26, 2013
February 25, 2013 Dear Members and Others, We attach articles by Cheryl Miller of the Recorder and Maria Dinzeo of the Courthouse News. Cheryl Miller’s article details the secrecy surrounding many important decisions made by branch leaders. She points out the obvious disconnect between the courts’ consistent enforcement of the constitutional mandate favoring disclosure and […]
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Judicial Council Watcher 
September 26, 2013
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