California Chief Justice Says New Budget Cuts Will Harm Progress

Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Patricia Guerrero said the state court system has been operating “leanly” in the face of a $97 million budget cut over the next fiscal year, and warned that additional cuts would be harmful.

Guererro, who took office in January 2023 as the state’s first Latina chief justice, said at a Friday legal conference in downtown San Francisco that 39 of the 58 state trial courts have adopted hiring freezes and 13 have introduced some form of furloughs. The courts have also been conducting more meetings virtually and traveling less.

Additional state budget reductions ...