SAN FRANCISCO—The Judicial Council at its July 12 meeting approved funding allocations to the trial courts, which includes a $97 million reduction to local trial courts as required by the fiscal year 2024-25 budget.

“What we are doing is making a decision in how to spread the reduction among all of the trial courts in the most fair manner possible,” said Judge Jonathan Conklin, chair of the council’s Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee. “The goals were equity, transparency, and stability.”

In addition to the $97 million reduction to the trial courts, the state budget also calls for a commensurate reduction of 7.95% to the state-level judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, Habeas Corpus Resource Center, and the Judicial Council.

“The courts are vital to the public and the fair administration of justice,” said Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. “We will continue to raise our concerns about the real-life impact of these cuts on Californians throughout the state who rely on our courts. Despite these challenges, we will continue to work diligently to mitigate and manage impacts to the courts and to the public we serve.”

Despite the reductions caused by the state’s multiyear deficit, the budget includes funding for priorities set by Chief Justice Guerrero and the Judicial Council to maintain critical programs and services provided by the branch, such as:

• Backfill funding to address declining fines, fees, and penalty revenues that support trial court operations across all 58 counties
   
• Resources for the growing number of self-represented litigants
   
• Courthouse construction and facility operations and maintenance

The budget also includes funding for pretrial programs, court-appointed dependency counsel, court interpreters, and continuing implementation of the CARE Act. Watch

Increasing Numbers of Court Interpreters
The council received an update on a pilot program to increase the number of court employee interpreters by reimbursing aspiring candidates for their training costs and up to three examination fees.

“More than 200 languages and dialects are spoken in California,” said David Yamasaki, court executive officer for the Superior Court of Orange County. “Without proper language assistance from court interpreters, limited-English-proficient users may be excluded from meaningful participation in the court process. The workforce pilot program is an important and timely vehicle to help increase our number of court interpreters and assist the courts in meeting the needs of California’s 6.8 million limited-English-proficient residents and potential court users.”

At its previous meeting in May, the council allocated $6.8 million provided in the fiscal year 2023-24 state budget for the five-year pilot program. Twenty superior courts have signed up to participate.

As part of the pilot program:

• Participating courts will hire successful candidates after they pass all required exams
   
• Candidates must agree up front to work for court for at least three years
   
• Courts can accept up to 10 candidates per court, per year

The 20 participating courts collectively have already received more than 500 applications from aspiring interpreters. The deadline to apply is Aug. 1. Watch

Other Items on Council Meeting Agenda:

Five-Year Plan for Courthouse Construction Projects: The council approved an update to the Judicial Branch Five-Year Infrastructure Plan, which outlines funding needs for new courthouse construction, renovations, and additions to existing facilities. The council also approved eight budget change proposals, which is how the branch requests funding for phases of trial court construction projects in the first year of the five-year plan. The council will submit the updated plan and the eight budget change proposals to the state Department of Finance. Watch

Funding for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program: The council approved allocations to fund 45 CASA programs that serve 52 California counties. Judicial officers appoint trained CASA volunteers that advocate for children in juvenile court. CASA volunteers spend time with the child, monitor their needs, and provide child-focused recommendations to the court based on the best interests of the child. More than 7,000 CASA volunteers serve approximately 11,000 children, donating 400,000 hours per year to help children, judges, and other professionals in the state’s juvenile courts. Watch

Funding for Child Support Commissioner and Family Law Facilitator Program: The council approved the annual funding allocation for the AB 1058 Child Support Commissioner and Family Law Facilitator program. Each superior court must have a child support commissioner, a judicial officer that specializes in hearing child support cases. Each court must also have a family law facilitator, a lawyer that can help litigants understand and navigate the child support system by providing educational materials, assisting with forms, and making referrals to other resources. The funding helps increase meaningful access for litigants involved in family court proceedings. Watch

Budget Change Proposals: The council agreed to submit eight budget change proposals to the Department of Finance for consideration in the fiscal year 2025-26 budget. Attempting to balance investment in core programs and services against the state’s budget deficit, these proposals include additional funding for court security, courthouse construction and maintenance, and court-appointed counsel programs for the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal. Watch

The complete meeting agenda and council reports are posted to the California Courts Meeting Information Center--an archived webcast of today’s meeting will be posted to the center as soon as it is available.