A Message from Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II
April 2025

The first quarter of 2025 at the Superior Court of Los Angeles County will be remembered as a time of fortitude in the face of tremendous adversity. As wildfires engulfed our county, more than 5,000 court employees and nearly 600 judicial officers at 36 courthouses – dozens of whom lost their homes and possessions – overcame sorrow and smoke to fulfill the Court’s mission to provide Los Angeles County residents equal and timely access to justice.  

 

Building Pubic Trust

The Court’s Q1 was also a time of momentum emphasizing building public trust. Studies show the judiciary typically garners more trust and confidence than sister branches of government, but that trust must continue to be earned and cannot be taken advantage of.

To that end, the Court is determined to hear from our users regarding how we can improve the delivery of justice in Los Angeles County. Recently, we distributed a targeted survey to many in the legal community to solicit feedback on a variety of issues, and we plan to use the results to inform our Court’s long-term strategic plans into the future. Thank you to those of you who took the time to respond.

The Court also commissioned a public poll of LA County residents on the perceptions of our Court. We will publish much of the poll’s findings in the weeks to come, but one thing was clear: LA residents trust their own court more than any other government agency or leader at any level – city, county, state, and federal. They overwhelmingly believe in the judiciary’s role as a check and balance on the other branches, and a majority of LA residents responded that our Court lives up to that responsibility. But there is room for improvement, and we must continue to live up to the public’s expectations in an accessible, fair, and impartial branch of government.

To help foster public trust, in January, I presented our first-ever State of the Court address, where I laid out my vision for a modern, community-minded court before a crowd of lawmakers, legal service and justice partners, bar association leaders, judges, and thousands of livestream viewers. To emphasize our Court’s commitment to transparency, an advance copy of my remarks was provided to media, and I took on-camera questions from the press immediately afterward. If you missed it, you may view the address here.

We followed up this effort with an awareness campaign among those who hold the Court’s purse strings – California’s lawmakers. In late February and again in mid-March, court leadership traveled to Sacramento to meet with state senators and assemblymembers representing the Los Angeles County area and beyond. I provided testimony on the impact of Prop 36 on trial courts before a joint Senate committee, welcomed newly elected representatives, and discussed the Court’s legislative focus areas, including the importance of remote proceedings and investing in court facilities, with committee chairs.

The Court received its lowest marks in the public poll for a perceived lack of innovation. Again and again, across all ideological lines, Angelenos made clear they are more than ready for a more contemporary court to finally arrive. For example, a majority support our Court’s unprecedented 2023 shift away from traditional money bail in favor of a pre-arraignment model where release is based on risk to public and victim safety. 80% of respondents felt that the Court’s convening of various stakeholders to explore the launch of an Eviction Diversion Pilot Program would have an impact on the homelessness crisis in our county.  Finally, by a two-to-one margin, LA County residents support expanding court services from brick-and-mortar courthouses out into the community.

Luckily, this loud-and-clear mandate aligns with plans already underway. Recently, the Court transitioned to electronic service of case documents in Juvenile Dependency, Mental Health and Probate cases. This will expand to include Family Law and Limited and Unlimited Civil by this summer, providing attorneys and litigants with faster notification.

Following the success of a Digital Evidence System pilot program, the Court expanded to allow all Small Claims litigants to upload and share evidence online in lieu of mailing physical copies. That system will soon be premiering in the unlimited civil departments. Further down the road, we will unveil a modern, user-friendly website.

The Court is also exploring a long-term facilities strategy that meets people where they are, such as bringing judges and court staff to local spaces like libraries, senior centers and community storefronts.  

That’s not to say brick-and-mortar ribbon-cuttings are a thing of the past. The Court is actively engaging state lawmakers to support a new flagship civil courthouse to replace the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, which is the fourth most seismically at-risk courthouse in California and is nearing its 70th operational year.

In closing, for the judiciary to maintain and build on the public’s trust and confidence, we must all work together - law firms, bar associations, affinity groups, legal service provider, stakeholders, and judicial officers – to demonstrate the value our independent and coequal branch of government provides for our democracy. The court of the future in Los Angeles County is in the works, but the future of the court is in all of our hands.

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire legal profession for your unwavering partnership and dedication. Your collaboration is instrumental in our collective mission to instill trust and confidence in the judiciary. I look forward to working with you to serve the residents of Los Angeles County and uphold the principles of justice that our community relies upon.