[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Ted Lieu
Member
California State Assembly

Before coming to the Assembly, I was a practicing attorney for over ten years. I have experienced first-hand how clogged our court system is, and understand the desperate need for more judges to hear cases and relieve that backlog.

So it was with a heavy heart that I joined with Assemblymembers Joe Coto, Mervyn Dymally, and Alberto Torrico in a letter requesting that the Legislature’s leaders cut $27 million from the Budget meant to fund 50 new judgeships. These judges were to be the second installment of a total of 150 judges over three years.

So why did we do it? The four members who signed the letter represent the leaders of the Legislature’s Latino Caucus (which Assemblymember Coto chairs), Black Caucus (which Assemblymember Dymally chairs), and Asian Pacific Islander Caucus (which Assemblymember Torrico currently chairs, and I will next session). Governor Schwarzenegger’s record in appointing judges who represent these three minority groups is, in a word, dismal.

by dday [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]