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.