Judicial Council of California News Release

Date: January 14, 2000

Chief Justice George Applauds Los Angeles County for Voting to Unify Trial Courts

Los Angeles To Become 55th California County To Unify Court Operations To Benefit Public

San Francisco — Los Angeles County trial court leaders today reported that the Los Angeles Superior Court and the county’s 24 municipal courts have voted to unify operations to create a single, countywide superior court.

“The historic vote in Los Angeles County represents an important milestone in California court administration,” said Chief Justice Ronald M. George, chair of the Judicial Council, the policy-making body for state courts.  “The largest county court system in the state, Los Angeles, has voted to become the 55th California county to unify its trial courts, joining the vast majority of California courts that have now chosen to combine forces to make the best use of their administrative and judicial resources.”

Chief Justice George continued:  “Los Angeles, because of its size and complexity, has presented unique issues for resolution.  The judicial leaders of the Los Angeles superior and municipal courts deserve commendation and gratitude for their hard work and commitment to reaching an agreement that so many judges could endorse.  We look forward to working with the entire court to ensure an effective transition to a unified system.  The Los Angeles court’s actions will benefit the people served by the court, and demonstrate the continued dedication of the county’s judges to improving the administration of justice.”

Proposition 220

Court unification is made possible by Proposition 220, a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters in June 1998 that permits each county to unify court operations if majorities of the county’s municipal and superior court judges vote to do so.  Court unification is designed to improve services to the public by adding flexibility to case assignments, consolidating court resources, and saving taxpayer dollars.

The voting action in Los Angeles is not final until certified by the Judicial Council’s Executive and Planning Committee.  The process of reviewing individual votes from Los Angeles County courts and certifying the results may take several days.  A final announcement about Judicial Council action will be made sometime next week.

Unification Voting Actions

As specified by the California Rules of Court, county courts may vote on unification by either one of two procedures: All superior and municipal judges in the county may approve the action by unanimous written consent, or they may vote over a 30-day period after one or more presiding judges submit an application to “call for a vote.”  Under the 30-day procedure, a majority of the judges in both the superior and municipal courts must approve unification for the vote to pass.

Of the 54 trial court unifications now in effect, 45 were approved by unanimous written consent, and 9 were approved by votes taken over a 30-day period.

The rules of court allow a county whose vote is unsuccessful to take another vote in the future.  This is the third time that Los Angeles county judges have voted on unification.

California Courts, Judicial Council of California

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