COCRA - For Officals By Officials
Follow us on TwitterBecome Our Friend on Facebook
Search

Archive for July, 2009

“Unprecedented Closures” For California Courts

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

For the first time in California history, the courts will close across the state one day each month because there simply isn’t enough money to keep them open.

The California Judicial Council, the policymaking arm of the state courts, voted Wednesday to shutter every court in the state the third Wednesday of every month, an unprecedented response to the state’s staggering budget deficits. With a $414 million budget gap for the California court system, the 21-member council unanimously backed the courthouse closure option to save an estimated $85 million, despite widespread discomfort with the idea.

“It doesn’t feel good,” said San Francisco Superior Court Judge Mary Wiss, a council member and president of the California Judges Association. “It leaves you with something in the pit of your stomach.”

-Continue Reading Article-

Posted in Court Closures | 2 Comments »

COCRA’s Accomplishments & Legislative Involvement 2009

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Okay COCRA members and supporters. If people ask you what COCRA has done in the past year, kindly refer them to this list that we like to call COCRA’s Accomplishments & Legislative Involvement 2009. This has been an incredibly busy year so far and needless to say your COCRA Team has been working its tail off to promote and protect the court reporting profession. We want you all to know that we couldn’t have accomplished it without your support. Thank you!

  • COCRA RESERCHES AND DEVELOPS THE PAJ-TF REPORT
  • COCRA BEGINS THE PROCESS OF EDUCATING THE LEGISLATURE
  • THE “FIGHT E.R.!” CAMPAIGN OFFICIALLY BEGINS ALONG WITH OTHER LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS
  • COCRA DEFENDS THE CRB
  • CROSS-DISCIPLINARY LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS– COCRA REPS WEAR UNION HATS TOO
  • POSITIVE RESULTS

(more…)

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Questions About AOC Spending During Budget Crisis

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Columnist Jeff Ackerman of The Union, a Nevada County newspaper, revealed in a column posted to the paper’s online edition that believe it or not, the AOC has not been spending its money wisely during these tough economic times for California superior courts.  As an example of how he believes the AOC is misspending money, he reveals that the AOC had a meeting at its San Francisco location where attendees were called upon to discuss “The California Judicial Branch Budget Crisis.”  And how much did this meeting to discuss the obvious wind up costing taxpayers?

..around 70 people from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) got together at the Hilton in San Francisco to discuss … get this … “The California Judicial Branch Budget Crisis.” They even spent $40,000 on five facilitators, just to make sure they came away with good notes on where all the taxpayer money went. And … again … I couldn’t make this up if I tried. “Gentlemen … please pass the wine … we are gathered here to discuss urgent business … please pass the cheese … the state is broke and unless we find some money, we may be meeting next year in Marysville at a Motel 6 …,” which resulted in a collective gasp and group wine-spit across the table.

A $10,000 facilitator had to be summoned to coordinate a group-hug.

The Hilton meeting rooms cost $42,000, according to a memo I intercepted in cyberspace. An estimated 25 of the 70 attendees spent two nights each at the Hilton (at a discounted price of $138 per night) and one member (a fellow named Judge Brad R. Hill) spent the night in the “Presidential Suite” because, according to the memo, it was his turn. The memo didn’t say how much the suite cost, but presidents don’t stay in rooms where remote controls are chained to the television sets. Don’t ask how I know this to be true.
It might be a good time to pause here and remember that this party … I mean conference … was happening while Nevada County courthouse employees (and state employees all over California) were being laid off and sent home without pay. So you might start to understand why our local judges might be just a little torked by such extravagance by their Mother Ship. You might also start to understand how groups such as the Tea Party are starting to get serious momentum.

The judicial group eventually got bummed out by all the budget crisis talk, so they boarded a bus and headed to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, where taxpayers paid $6,000 for a cocktail party, according to the memo from the judicial council’s mouthpiece.

Also drawing Mr. Ackerman’s ire is the AOC’s computer system which will purportedly cost $1.1 billion.

Close to home, our Nevada County courts have trimmed payroll and may be forced by the Mother Ship to close one day per month despite a growing caseload. Local judges wondered why their own Mother Ship (the AOC) was growing while they were being asked to sacrifice.They also question the need for a $1.1 BILLION computer system being shoved its way by the AOC. The math, by the way, works out to roughly $20 million per county … for a freaking computer system. At a time when we are cutting teachers, cops and firefighters to save money.

Mr. Ackerman’s column begs a few questions.  When Californians voted to approve the consolidation of municipal and superior courts, do you think they had any idea that they would wind up creating a new bureaucratic octopus with its tentacles in the financial pot of every county?  And would Californians have voted to approve the consolidation if they knew just how much money it would take to feed this octopus in its current state?  And is this column just the beginning of a more focused look by the press on the inner workings and spending habits of the AOC?  Stay tuned.

Posted in AOC | 2 Comments »

Take That, Arnold!!

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

E.R. is NOT in the State Budget. Court Reporters Board is Safe

It’s confirmed! On an issue as important as this, we didn’t want to send out unconfirmed information with a caveat. Our COCRA and labor lobbyists have now confirmed that the budget proposal reached last night by the Legislative Leadership does NOT contain Electronic or Digital Recording.

The Court Reporters Board was untouched as well and will continue to serve the public, as well as license and oversee Certified Shorthand Reporting professionals and administer the Transcript Reimbursement Fund.

The court reporters of California waged a tough battle and we can all be proud of the part we played in keeping ER at bay once again and out of California courtrooms. We are proud of our members for rallying to the call for support from COCRA’s Preserving Access to Justice Task Force. It is only with your help this result was achieved.

But the true heroes in this defeat are our Legislative Leadership, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who worked tirelessly, standing fast against the Governor’s demands to implement ER. The Leaders’ offices and staff members have always been receptive and repeatedly facilitated the efforts of the COCRA Team and union leaders while continuing to support other court employee interests. We hope you will show them your gratitude.

COCRA’s lobbyists, Barry Broad and Shane Gusman, along with our labor leaders, Willie Pelote and Michael Bolden from AFSCME and Michelle Castro from SEIU, as always, were instrumental in protecting our interests and continuing to monitor and influence the negotiations, and we offer them a huge round of applause! They are truly our eyes and ears in Sacramento, literally watching our backs every day, not just during these times of crisis.

It is anticipated that the state budget will be ready for a final vote in the Legislature later this week. Our COCRA Team will continue to keep you informed. Check our website for up-to-the-minute reports.

California is still in a grave fiscal situation, and the Governor is sure to resurrect his perceived ER “solution” again the next time he’s looking for an answer to the state’s budgetary problems. But, for now, breathe easy and enjoy the victory…..and thank your lucky stars and those who supported you!

Posted in Electronic Recording | No Comments »

California Has A Budget

Monday, July 20th, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California’s legislative leaders agreed Monday on a plan to close the state’s $26 billion budget shortfall, potentially getting the state back on firm financial ground so it can stop issuing IOUs.

The governor and leaders from both parties announced the compromise after more than five hours of closed-door talks. If the agreement survives its run through both houses of the Legislature, it would provide temporary relief to an epic fiscal crisis that has captured national attention, sunk the state’s credit rating and forced deep cuts in education and social services.

Most analysts and top lawmakers expect that California will face multibillion dollar deficits into the foreseeable future as the economy struggles to recover and tax revenue lags far behind the level of the boom years.

Click to continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

COCRA’s CA Court Closures/Furlough Tracker

Monday, July 20th, 2009

COCRA will be leaving this post as a sticky towards the top of the blog and we’ll be updating it with information on how each county is handling the court closures and furloughs.  Although the legislation allowing for court closures may make it appear as if every county is acting in a uniform fashion, a quick read through of this post will show that it most certainaly is not.   We will be updating this post with information as we receive it so be sure to continue to check back.  And of course if you have anything to add in terms of how your particular county is implementing court closures and furloughs, drop us a line or leave a comment and we’ll update the blog posting.

UPDATED: October 5th, 2009

San Mateo County:  ER Avoided


(more…)

Posted in Court Closures, Furloughs | 4 Comments »

Is ER Back From The Grave?

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Rumors have surfaced and now COCRA lobbyists have confirmed that the Governor has given the Big 5 Budget Committee an unpublished list of over 40 demanded cuts, which includes implementation of ER in our California courts.

The Governor continues to claim an unrealistic savings, far and above that supported by either the Legislative Analyst’s Office or the Department of Finance.

Now the good news. Both Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg continue to steadfastly support court reporters and continue to reject electronic recording. COCRA lobbyist Shane Gusman tells us that, “Leadership considers this a nonstarter and a dead issue.”

The Big 5 Committee has a difficult job under intense pressure from the Governor to meet his agenda and make deep cuts. They deserve our support.

Please write the legislative members of the Big 5 and tell them that you appreciate their continued support of an accurate and cost-efficient record. Let them know that the court reporters understand their difficult position and that’s why it is even more significant that they are on our side and recognize that ER just won’t work for California. A sample letter and FAX numbers appear below.

Also, let your local legislative representatives from your district know that you need them to stand up for justice and court reporters when it comes time for them to vote on the budget.

Here is a link you can use to find your legislative member:

If your member has voted to support reporters in the past, be sure to tell them that you appreciate their support; if not, thank them for their time and attention to the court reporter issues and ask them to examine COCRA’s Preserving Access to Justice Task Force report by clicking on this link.

(more…)

Posted in Electronic Recording | No Comments »

COCRA Proposes Changes To Bylaws

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

If you’re a member of COCRA you should have received a postcard in the mail alerting members to changes to our bylaws including a major change that affects representation.

To read the language of the proposed changes that will be voted on September 12th of this year in San Francisco at the COCRA Fall Conference just click on the read more link below.

I’ll be writing a post in the next couple of days explaining how these changes came about and why we believe these will be beneficial for COCRA members.

(more…)

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Recent Posts

Archives