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    San Francisco to shutter courtrooms, lay off 200

    By PAUL ELIAS - Associated Press | AP – Tue, Jul 19, 2011

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Superior Court announced Monday that it's laying off more than 40 percent of its staff and shuttering 25 courtrooms because of budget cuts.

    Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein said the actions were necessary to close a $13.75 million budget deficit caused by state budget cuts. She said the cuts mean it will take many more hours to pay a traffic ticket in person, up to 18 months to finalize a divorce and five years for a lawsuit to go to trial.

    "The civil justice system in San Francisco is collapsing," Feinstein said.

    Some 200 of the court's 480 workers will be let go by Sept. 30, including 11 of 12 commissioners who preside over a variety of cases. And she said it could get worse if optimistic revenue projections don't materialize by January.

    "The future is very, very bleak for our courts," Feinstein said at a Monday news conference. Feinstein said criminal cases would remain largely unaffected because of constitutional guarantees of speedy trials. Every other type of court, though, is facing significant cutbacks.

    The San Francisco courts aren't the only courts facing cutbacks, only the most dramatic. The Judicial Council, which manages the judicial branch's budget, will decide Friday whether to cut funding of local courts by 8.8 percent or about $305 million.

    Other courts are considering unpaid furloughs for workers, shorter hours for clerks and other cost-cutting measures. None are going as far as San Francisco, but the budget woes have caused discord within the judiciary.

    The Alliance of California Judges was formed almost three years ago by judges unhappy with the Judicial Council's fiscal management. In particular, the Alliance is demanding administrators scrap plans for a new computer system projected to cost $2 billion to fully install statewide.

    Instead, court administrators are proposing delaying the project for a year, which would save $100 million.

     

    760 comments

    • dan
      dan  •  10 mths ago
      Do you think Californians who keep voting in the big spending politicains will ever figure out that they are the problem and not the politicians. California never ceases to amaze me with their stupidity. They are broke and they still think they can spend like there is no end to the money. They have the mentality of washing but on steroids! It will be funny when they finally hit rock bottom and then want a bailout from the federal taxpayers. I hope to god we dont give them one though or they will never learn their lesson. Guess they are all to busy trying to teach gay history or finding new ways to screw its own population out of the rest of their money!
      • Harvey
        Harvey 10 mths ago
        One reason is that they have a governor named MOONBEAM!!
      • Obamasux
        Obamasux 10 mths ago
        Actually, there have been a number of attempts by the California people to correct some problems. However, the courts always override the people. Look at the ballots they have approved only to have the courts declare they should not have voted the way they did.
      • Rick M
        Rick M 10 mths ago
        Dan: I am sorry to say, but the federal govt has already bailed out California and will probably do more in the future. The feds guaranteed state bonds so they can get a lower interest rate (does this remind you of Greece and the ECB?). When California defaults on its bonds, you and I, federal taxpayers, will pick up the tab for California's spending spree on illegals and union pensions. (Don't act shocked. The Republicans supported these hand outs to california so their buddies on wall street can make a few bucks selling worthless bonds to old ladies.)
    • mamagrizzlyturds
      mamagrizzlyturds  •  10 mths ago
      GOOD! The court systems are a joke and you need to modernize and not think every job with a state and county employee is for life! ever try dealing with county or state employees the have too many levels of incompetence...cut cut cut
      • Mr. Wizard
        Mr. Wizard 10 mths ago
        Your right on. I was in Admin. Court for 10 years they took all your tax $ and spent in on non-court operaterations. The Judges are a joke. Close all the courts. Let people deal with the scumbags
    • Jim M
      Jim M  •  10 mths ago
      The 2 billion dollar computer system, what does it do for that amount of money, and how do you save 100 million dollars by delaying it a year, I think there is something wrong with this picture.
    • WhereU
      WhereU  •  10 mths ago
      The layoff workers can go pick strawberries and pay income taxes so the Illegals can get welfare and live in S.F. and vote for the strawberry pickers to pay more taxes. San Francisco, the sanctuary city. Liberalism at its best?
    • Old Corps Grunt
      Old Corps Grunt  •  10 mths ago
      Judge Katherine Feinstein...

      Now we know how anti-gun Diane Feinstien (mother of Katherine Feinstein) managed to acquire a carried-concealed license in anti-gun San Francisco.

      Daughter Katherine was working in San Francisco's district attorneys office...
    • fatman
      fatman  •  10 mths ago
      Just goes to show how much more it costs to provide services to gays as well as showing how few of them pay taxes. Sanfagcisco what a city.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  10 mths ago
      It is not Socialism, it is Communism. They did not disappear they just changed the name.
    • Willebug
      Willebug  •  10 mths ago
      We should use this plan to get rid of all the activist judges on both sides of the aisle. Shut them all down and let the legislative branch do it's job without constantly being hounded by judges with an agenda.
      • Sean
        Sean 10 mths ago
        Loves sniffing Rush butt.
      • lathrupman
        lathrupman 10 mths ago
        I partly agree with Willebug. Most of the activist judges who legislate from the bench are on one particular side of the aisle. Whatever they learned (if anything) about the constitution in law school was either false or has long evaporated.
    • Masahiro
      Masahiro  •  10 mths ago
      san francisco fails to realize its a free country- all the people you tax so much will just leave, leaving your hell hole all to vagrants, free loaders and other scum
      • SFC
        SFC 10 mths ago
        Very true, when the jobs are chased out of state with excessive taxation, the workers leave and welfare recipients stay.
      • Rick M
        Rick M 10 mths ago
        I went to a convention in SF and was shocked at the number of trany prostitutes and aggressive panhandlers hassling me on my way to my hotel. They put the homeless shelters right in the middle on the convention district and then let them run wild without a cop in sight. One of my colleagues was choked by a bum and had to run away (true story). I advised my company to avoid conventions in that city and I doubt we will return.
      • Kathy
        Kathy 10 mths ago
        Sadly, it's already happening...and since the California legislature can't raise taxes arbitrarily, be watching to see the drive for more and more "fees" and regulations to make it difficult for new business. Very unfriendly state for business.
    • mac marine
      mac marine  •  10 mths ago
      San Francisco or Paris France, both run by socialist and now they can eat their socialism.
      • KonaGolden
        KonaGolden 10 mths ago
        Since France elected Sarkozy, a ( for France) Conservative, they have done much better. Unlike us.
    • dana
      dana  •  10 mths ago
      get rid of the illegals .quit giving them money food free schooling..why in the heck would u do away with public safety for the american citizen.#$%$
    • Tim
      Tim  •  10 mths ago
      In CA, per capita we spend $107 to operate our courts, $151 on the interst on our debt and $1,365 on welfare. By goshdon't cut welfare or reduce our debt!
    • spewing_venom619
      spewing_venom619  •  10 mths ago
      SF is a sanctuary city, wonder what kind of burden that puts on the legal system?
    • Michelle
      Michelle  •  10 mths ago
      Its about time the state took a hit besdies the taxpayers.2 billion for a computer syetem,so whats it cost a million for the actual syetm and the rest of the cost to grease all the hands and prime the cost so everyone gets a cut come on now.How stupid you think the people are.Its about time the ststem feels somethingand with any luck it will work its way to the top the trim all the fat thats there and there is alot of it
    • No Amnesty
      No Amnesty  •  10 mths ago
      keep giving away free needles and methadone on every corner because thats more important then locking the criminals up.
    • crymeariver
      crymeariver  •  10 mths ago
      Ca. is lib broke, keep up amnesty for illegals, silly public sector union stuff and it will be sold at auction.
    • Goombah O'Reilly
      Goombah O'Reilly  •  10 mths ago
      Hopefully, all the activist libtard judges got chopped...
    • Kay
      Kay  •  10 mths ago
      These Democrats really know how to work things out. California is the poster state for what not to do. This is just the beginning. Pretty soon illegals won't even live there. They will all come to your state for the welfare.
    • ts
      ts  •  10 mths ago
      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.............I bet the illegals still get free health care, education, and food stamps. California the clown state
    • Rick B
      Rick B  •  10 mths ago
      The good thing is the illegals will still get there check. San Francisco will keep giving until they have no more.
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