Recession-Driven Cutbacks Produce Court Bottleneck

Recent funding cutbacks in California’s huge court system have created long lines and short tempers at the state’s numerous courthouses. Without significantly more state money in the coming year, personal injury and other civil cases being filed today may not reach trial for five years. This is considerably longer than the previous 1 to 1.5-year backlog, under the now defunct Fast Track rules instituted in Los Angeles County. Many of the court delays result from staff shortages, thus allowing legal documents to pile up and delaying case resolutions and judgments.