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Well, it seems that matters have come to a head in California, where this week Los Angeles car rental coupon special thrifty Superior Court officials said they plan to shutter 10 regional courthouses to address a projected $50 to $80 million budget shortfall.
The impact on the 9.9 million residents of L.A. County, the nation's most populous, is expected to be considerable. Expect bigger lines, slower case resolution, and longer trips to court—no joke, given the ever-present gridlock, particularly for those who rely on public transportation.
"People, particularly those with smaller value cases, will have to go halfway across the county instead of going to a court in their community," said Richard Burdge Jr., President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. car rental coupon special thrifty "If you can't get your contracts enforced, or disposed car rental coupon special thrifty of in a reasonable period of time, it's bad for business… You're going to see lines going around the courthouse for people just trying to pay traffic tickets."
The number of locations handling small claims cases will shrink from 26 to six, according to the court. Collections will be handled car rental coupon special thrifty in just two places instead of 24. Under the courtroom reorganization plan, all personal injury cases will be concentrated at a single court downtown.
All told the changes affect facilities that now serve 2.9 million people, from courthouses on L.A.'s well-heeled West Side to those in working-class neighborhoods to the east and south. The changes will take place over the next eight months, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The difficulty I have with all of this is our court system was designed to be a neighborhood court system, Los Angeles County Superior Court's Presiding Judge Lee Smalley Edmon told the Recorder , a California legal publication. Unfortunately our budget has been cut so much that we re not going to be able to continue that level of service.
Now, cases assigned to Malibu will be sent to Santa Monica or Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley. car rental coupon special thrifty People who would have resolved traffic tickets, misdemeanors, and small claims or landlord tenant disputes at the Pomona North courthouse (which serves 350,000 residents) will have to go another 15 or so miles west, to courthouses in El Monte or West Covina.
He said the economic downturn punched a gaping hole in the state court's budget in 2008, and subsequent cuts continued to whittle car rental coupon special thrifty away at the county court system. "It's been building car rental coupon special thrifty up, and now all the cuts are coming home to roost."
Error message Name We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines . Our blogs do not require the use of your real name. Comment Comments (4 of 4) View all Comments 2:33 pm November 20, 2012 Nick Buzan wrote :
The people car rental coupon special thrifty this is going to hurt are court staff and the accused. A traffic ticket in LA, even a fix it ticket, will cost you close to $1,000.00. I know this from experience. There is something seriously wrong with keeping a court system open by charging people this much money for traffic violations. It is cruel and unusual. It is a deprivation of property without car rental coupon special thrifty due process. It is eminent domain. It is absolutely ridiculous. There needs to be a cap on fines for LA county when it comes to minor violations.
The Law Blog is an online publication that covers hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities in law. It's brought to you by lead writer Joe Palazzolo , with contributions from The Wall Street Journal staff. Joe has spent five years covering lawyers, the U.S. Department car rental coupon special thrifty of Justice, anticorruption enforcement, and courts. car rental coupon special thrifty He learned early on that the best stories start in the courtroom or end up there.
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