Superior Court of Los Angeles County Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner
LACBA Quarterly Update #2 | July 2024

I once again appreciate the opportunity to provide the membership of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) an update on the pressing issues facing the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, as well as information on recent court initiatives and accomplishments. As many Los Angelenos enjoy the slower pace of summer, better traffic conditions and days spent at the beach, the Court has been hard at work addressing challenges resulting from statewide budget cuts.  Nonetheless, we continue to make progress implementing innovative solutions to address some of our most pressing needs, including backlogs in the Civil Division and creating a pipeline of future court reporters.  

I remain mindful of the importance of our Court’s relationship with our bar partners. To that end, I was grateful to provide remarks on the state of the Court at the annual LACBA Bench Meets Bar Luncheon in May at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, at which members of our Court were warmly welcomed by the LACBA Litigation Section Chairs and Executive Director & CEO Stan Bissey. I also appreciated the opportunity to provide remarks at the Barristers Bench Meets Bar Reception in April. To connect with the newer members of the legal profession, my remarks were Taylor Swift-themed. I’m hopeful that my advice to new and young lawyers will help them conjure their inner “Swiftie” and “shake it off” when faced with challenges in their careers. We are fortunate to be members of such a venerable profession and we look forward every year to welcoming a new crop of attorneys, mentoring them as they develop, and spreading the word that volunteering with bar associations will bring great satisfaction and collegiality.   

Budget Cuts

California trial courts have sustained a significant budget cut this fiscal year due to decreasing tax receipts and revenues in California. The trial courts’ operating budget has been reduced by $97 million resulting in a $31 million cut to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Simply put, this is a significant budget cut.   

As a result, we are concerned about the impact spending reductions will have on access to justice in Los Angeles County. The Court’s historical careful and prudent financial planning will enable us to avert staff layoffs. However, it is inevitable that this substantial $31 million cut will result in the suspension of certain projects, hiring freezes and reduced services. The Court is working to develop strategic measures to navigate the next budget year and will continue to communicate with our bar partners as decisions are made.

As the impacts of budget reductions come into focus in the coming months, I am hopeful we will continue working with the members of LACBA to collaborate with the Court in effectively communicating with legislators about the effects the budget cuts will have on access to justice in Los Angeles County. 

Court Reporter Training Program

In my first LACBA update I told you that last year over 332,000 proceedings took place in Los Angeles County with no verbatim record as a result of the chronic and well-documented court reporter shortage combined with outdated statutory restrictions on electronic recording. That number has grown to 426,000 proceedings as of March 31, 2024!  

As I’ve stated many times – this is a constitutional crisis given that litigants in civil, family law and probate proceedings are essentially denied their right to an appeal because of a lack of a verbatim transcript of their proceedings. Thanks, in part, to significant advocacy efforts on the part of the Court, our bar partners and members of the legal aid profession, we were grateful to see the Los Angeles Times cover the crisis in an April 12 article No transcript, no appeal: California courts face ‘crisis’ over lack of records. Despite the shocking number of proceedings that take place without a verbatim record of the proceedings, significant media coverage and a chorus of organizations and individuals pressing for a solution, the Legislature has declined to address the issue in a meaningful way this session. Undaunted, the Superior Court of Los Angeles County continues to think expansively about how to address these challenges while continuing to educate legislators regarding the significant impact the prohibitions in the law have on their constituents. 

On April 1, the Court announced an internal training program to expand the pipeline of court reporters and help fill the Court’s over 100 court reporter vacancies. Drawing upon the Court’s extensive pool of talent comprising over 5,000 full-time employees, the training program will offer current staff members a full scholarship covering all tuition, fees and equipment costs. Training will be offered by the Poway Adult School and will take place virtually and last approximately one year. Trainees will be provided with approximately three to six hours of dedicated training time per week during their regular workday. Those who successfully complete the training program and obtain their California certification will be guaranteed employment with the Court. Trainees who accept jobs as court reporters will be expected to remain employed by the Court for at least three years. A similar but separate training program is being offered concurrently to build the pipeline of Spanish language court interpreters as well.

The response from our staff was remarkable, with over 400 applicants for the Court Reporter Training Program and over 250 applicants for the Court Interpreter Training Program competing for 25 spots each. Training is anticipated to begin in July and last through June 2025. The inaugural class of both training programs, pending certification, is expected to begin their new positions in the summer of 2025.

The training program for court reporters supplements the Court’s robust recruitment and retention incentives offered to current and future court-employed court reporters. While the Court appreciates this funding provided by the Legislature as a tool to recruit and retain much needed court reporters, in Los Angeles County court reporter retirements continue to significantly outpace court reporter hires since the Court first announced the incentives in February 2023.

It is important to understand this point: This funding alone will not come close to solving this crisis.  Simply put, there are not enough licensed court reporters in California to meet demand. We need a holistic approach that both funds and supports programs that build the pipeline of future court reporters while simultaneously enabling courts to leverage accurate and widely used electronic recording technology to provide litigants access to verbatim records today when a court reporter is not available. We look forward to working with our bar partners to continue to strategize, educate and find solutions to address this significant issue.   

Addressing Civil Division Backlogs

The Court continues to endeavor to address civil trial backlogs created by the pandemic, judicial retirements, restructuring and judicial vacancies. Beginning June 10, additional judicial officers from across the Court are presiding over certain Personal Injury and Unlawful Detainer matters.  

Judges with extensive trial experience sit in divisions across our Court and possess the knowledge and skills to preside over jury trials no matter their assigned discipline. With this new initiative, we are leveraging scarce judicial resources across disciplines to collectively meet the needs of court users and promote timely access to justice. We appreciate the willingness of these judicial officers to volunteer to help the Civil Division and respond to the needs of the Court to bring meaning to our mission which is to serve our community by providing equal access to justice through the fair, timely and efficient resolution of all cases.

LACourtConnect 3.0 Pilot Project

The Court acknowledges the value of remote appearance options. 

To that end, the Court continues to work to improve remote appearance technology used in Civil, Family, Probate and Traffic  LACourtConnect (LACC). The Court recently announced the implementation of an updated remote hearings platform in a Probate courtroom beginning July 1. The simplified LACC Version 3.0 will improve convenience by no longer requiring advance registration and including standard Microsoft Teams features with industry-leading stability and ease of use.

Stay tuned for more information as we anticipate implementing LACC 3.0 in additional courtrooms and litigation types over time.

Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols Recognized by National Association of Counties

In June, the National Association of Counties announced that the Court will receive a 2024 Achievement Award for the Court’s Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols (PARP) in the category of Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

The PARPs, which became effective in Los Angeles County on October 1, 2023, recognize the constitutional implications of conditioning pre-arraignment release for non-violent, non-serious offenses on an arrestee’s ability to pay an arbitrary amount of money bail. Now, rather than determining release solely based on a person’s ability to pay money bail, for those arrested for non-violent, non-serious offenses, a judge decides an individual’s pre-arraignment release status based on their risk to public or victim safety as well as their likelihood of returning to court, which is consistent with the Constitutional purpose of bail and applicable law. Judges are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to make release determinations based on the arrestee’s prior criminal history, prior failures to appear at court, the offense for which the person has been arrested, and other information provided to the judge by law enforcement officers or others.

The success of the PARP project is the result of a collective effort by many court staff and judicial officers who worked tirelessly to develop and implement the new, more equitable approach to pre-arraignment release and effectively communicate its value to our justice partners, the LA County Board of Supervisors, other politicians and the public.

We are grateful for and appreciate our Court’s meaningful partnership with the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the opportunity to provide you all with up-to-date information on the Court’s current challenges and successes. I am equally grateful to have the opportunity to work every day with Assistant Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II and Executive Officer/Clerk of Court David W. Slayton, who together provide me with invaluable guidance and input as we navigate choppy waters and steer the largest court in the nation towards a bright and resilient future. Together with the LACBA membership, we will continue to fulfill our common goal of ensuring timely, equal access to justice for the residents of Los Angeles County.

Wishing you all a safe, cool and enjoyable summer.