California budget cutbacks & the negative impact on the court system

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California budget cutbacks & the negative impact on the court system

Posted On : Oct-04-2010 | seen (1319) times | Article Word Count : 354 |

In 2009, the United States confronted the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. As a result, most states face budget gaps of unprecedented proportions....

Budget cutbacks:
In 2009, the United States confronted the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. As a result, most states face budget gaps of unprecedented proportions. In 2010, California made difficult but necessary decisions to close a $60 billion budget deficit in order to prevent a major fiscal crisis. California has had to adopt reforms in every area of government to contain costs. One of the significant state general fund adjustments was the reduction to trial courts operations for a total of $100 million in reductions.

Backlogs:
As a result, these budget cutbacks have had a negative impact on timing of court hearing dates. Courts in various counties have resorted to a range of cost cutting measures, for instance, mandatory court closures, leave of absence days without pay, staff reductions and increased workloads. Consequently, court rooms are backlogged, and the number of cases that need to be processed per day has increased drastically. The Backlog affects all court hearings, including hearings for structured settlement transfers.

Hearing dates once the documents have been filed and processed:
In the past, one could simply request a date for a hearing and the court would assign the date requested. However, ever since the budget cutbacks, hearing dates have become a matter of “when” the first available date is. In some counties, like Los Angeles, the first available date could be up to 90 days away.

Filing and Processing of documents:
Prior to the 2010 budget cutbacks, the average turnaround time for document filing, processing and assigning of hearing dates, was between 7 to 10 business days. Currently, though, as a result of staff reductions, and varying from county to county, it may take anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months to even obtain a court date. These times vary from county to county because certain counties have greater budget than others.

California is not alone. State courts across the country are struggling to deal with the consequences of the Great Recession.

Hopefully in 20100, there will be new effective solutions for the backlogged court system.

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<h1>California budget cutbacks & the negative impact on the court system </h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Strategic Capital.aspx'>Strategic Capital</a> Budget cutbacks:
In 2009, the United States confronted the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. As a result, most states face budget gaps of unprecedented proportions. In 2010, California made difficult but necessary decisions to close a $60 billion budget deficit in order to prevent a major fiscal crisis. California has had to adopt reforms in every area of government to contain costs. One of the significant state general fund adjustments was the reduction to trial courts operations for a total of $100 million in reductions.

Backlogs: 
As a result, these budget cutbacks have had a negative impact on timing of court hearing dates. Courts in various counties have resorted to a range of cost cutting measures, for instance, mandatory court closures, leave of absence days without pay, staff reductions and increased workloads. Consequently, court rooms are backlogged, and the number of cases that need to be processed per day has increased drastically. The Backlog affects all court hearings, including hearings for structured settlement transfers.

Hearing dates once the documents have been filed and processed:
In the past, one could simply request a date for a hearing and the court would assign the date requested. However, ever since the budget cutbacks, hearing dates have become a matter of “when” the first available date is. In some counties, like Los Angeles, the first available date could be up to 90 days away.

Filing and Processing of documents:
Prior to the 2010 budget cutbacks, the average turnaround time for document filing, processing and assigning of hearing dates, was between 7 to 10 business days. Currently, though, as a result of staff reductions, and varying from county to county, it may take anywhere from 4 weeks to 3 months to even obtain a court date. These times vary from county to county because certain counties have greater budget than others.
 
California is not alone. State courts across the country are struggling to deal with the consequences of the Great Recession.

Hopefully in 20100, there will be new effective solutions for the backlogged court system.
About the Author: Strategic Capital Corporation is a financial services company that purchases structured settlements, lottery winnings, annuities and other types of future payments from individuals and companies. 
 Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_California-budget-cutbacks--the-negative-impact-on-the-court-system_36034.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_California budget cutbacks & the negative impact on the court system _36034.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_California budget cutbacks & the negative impact on the court system _36034.aspx

Author Resource :
Strategic Capital Corporation is a financial services company that purchases structured settlements, lottery winnings, annuities and other types of future payments from individuals and companies.

Keywords : California budget cutbacks, California, Great Depression, hearing and approval dates, California Budget cutbacks, State court,

Category : Finance : Personal Finance

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