RCRC supports Senate Bill 75, authored by Senator Richard Roth (D-Riverside). As introduced, this measure would authorize 26 new superior court judgeships, subject to appropriation. If funded in the budget, any new judgeships would be allocated to counties in the state in accordance with the Judicial Council's Judicial Needs Assessment.
In recent years, the judicial branch has received funding for the fifty judgeships authorized by AB 159 (Statutes of 2007, Chapter 722). However, a critical need for additional judicial resources in some underserved areas of the state continues to exist. Based on the Judicial Council’s 2022 Judicial Needs Assessment, seventeen counties require additional judgeships for a total requirement of ninety-eight new judicial positions in the State. Nine of those 17 counties are rural and account for fifteen of the judicial positions needed, in order to provide appropriate access to justice for residents living in remote regions of the state.
Every day, rural counties see the real impacts of our overwhelmed justice system in case dismissals, delayed trials, and more. In addition, the workload of the courts continues to grow with new programs like CARE Court that require additional staffing to meet new demands. Providing access to the judicial system in a timely fashion, to every Californian regardless of zip code, begins with properly authorizing and funding judicial positions in every corner of the state.
AB 75 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. RCRC’s letter of support is available here. For more information, please contact RCRC Policy Advocate, Sarah Dukett.