Will we ever get relief?

Chief justice Ronald George cited to the California legislature the critical shortage of courtrooms suffered by the citizens of Riverside County. See the PE's report here. The Chief Justice was quoted as stating:

"Court delays have real, human consequences," George said.

"In one Riverside criminal case, an individual who had spent five years in jail was found not guilty when his case, which had resulted in a hung jury at an earlier trial, was finally retried," George said in his prepared remarks.

The chief justice did not mention the defendant by name but appeared to be referring to the case of Robbie Catchings, who had been charged in a 2002 shooting in Perris, had a hung jury in 2005 and was acquitted on retrial in October of last year.

George outlined how the criminal case backlog had shut down civil trials for the past two years in Riverside County because criminal cases have speedy trial guarantees while civil trials do not.

George told the legislators the lack of judges sets off a cycle: A set trial date is a key to resolving cases, but if a judge is not available, no trial date can be set.

"The absence of an operational civil justice system will affect every aspect of California life: business and financial institutions, dissolutions of marriage, probate distributions ... all will have no place to go," he said.

"Jehovah's Witnesses elders must testify in Murrieta molestation case, judge rules"

The PE reports that the "Jehovah's Witnesses elders must testify in Murrieta molestation case, judge rules.''
The article is interesting for distinguishing cases were a penitential admission to clergy is safe from laws requiring disclosure but that the inquiry in this case was not made for penitential purposes. The article states correctly that "California law protects statements made to clergy members who are required by their faith's practices to keep them secret." It doesn't however stretch to comments made by an inquiry board as inlisted by the Jehovah's witnesses in this case to investigate alleged child molestation.

Congratulations General Patrick

The PE reports that Moreno Valley son Len Patrick was promoted to General in the USAF. It had to be the air.

"Cities pay huge salaries despite fiscal crises"

Normally your humble correspondent wouldn't cite to the San Francisco Chronicle what with this being the Inland Empire Law Blog and all, but sometimes an article is too good to not link. The Chronicle reports on some ridiculously high salaries by those poor public servants. Get a load of these figures:

"A city nurse earned $350,000. A fire department battalion chief pulled in more than twice as much as the mayor. And a municipal park ranger took home $188,000 in overtime on top of his $71,000 salary."

Hat tip to Hugh Hewitt.

Amazingly tough case

The PE reports on a case only Solomon could handle. The RivCo DA is prosecuting a mother for the drowning death of the mother's three year old daughter. A superior court judge dismissed the case for not being supported by evidence. The judge found insufficient evidence warranting bringing the mother to trial for criminal negligence. The DA representing the people is appealing because apparently justice has not been served. Read the article and you decide if justice is served by prosecuting this poor woman.

That's a heck of a fine.

The PE reports that TXI Oro Grande plant which manufactures cement near Victorille "will pay $394,000 and shut down seven 50-year-old kilns as part of a proposed settlement this week with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which had sued the company for alleged violations of federal Clean Air Act." The plant apparently is going to test a $385,000,000 kiln to replace the polluting variation.

Hmmm. Obviously, down the hill in the basin, particulates get trapped by the geography and can really foul the air. I can see the EPA taking action down here. Can someone explain how it is that it makes financial sense to require a cement manufacturer to spend $385,000,000 to reduce particulates when there's nothing but open space?

It seems only two things can come from such actions: Consumers pay more for concrete to pay for the $385,000,000 or the plant shuts down because it can't afford to pay $385,000,000. Neither are desirable, but the question is whether a reduction in particulates in an area without a particulate problem is a good use of government authority.

FHA to the rescue

Big news in the housing market. FHA loan limits have been extended to $500,000 from the previously paltry sum of $362,790. Obviously, you could buy little in SoCal with $362,790 which meant that the recent housing boom was driven largely by private lenders. This cash infusion should help more marginally qualified borrowers qualify and into some of the more expensive homes. Regardless of whether this is a good idea, it certainly seems likely to result in a reduction in supply of homes. That should stop the free fall of prices and result in the normal escalation of prices over time. See here for the PE's report.