SAN DIEGO - California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George lashed out Saturday at required court “furlough days” during a major San Diego address. George charged that, “courts are not just state buildings. They are symbols of our commitment to access to justice.”
George went on to charge that citizens may be shocked when they find “closed” signs on their courthouses. “Democracies need their courts and they need their courts to be open.”
George recounted that closing courts one extra day each month was a “last resort,” due to budget constraints. A last resort that the chief justice “deeply regretted.”
George’s remarks were made during a major address to the Conference of California Bar Associations (CCBA) at the Hilton Bayfront Saturday afternoon.
Last month state-wide court administrators decided that courts in California must close one “furlough day” a month in order to close what George called a “budget hole.” The first such court closure will occur next Wednesday, Sept. 16. Future court closures are scheduled each third Wednesday of every month through August 2010.
The George address was delivered before the CCBA Conference of Delegates in session at the Hilton. The annual Conference of Delegates is the lawyers’ versions of a mini-legislature. The attorneys assesembled pass “resolutions” which are in reality attempts to amend the California Code, which governs the state. Many actual laws have been initiated in this manner.
While at the Conference, George swore in the CCBA’s incoming officers and directors. The new office holders included long-time San Diego attorney Lilys McCoy. McCoy began her one-year term as CCBA President.
The Conference itself has been a source of some controversy this year. It moved from the Manchester Grand Hyatt to the Hilton in response to a boycott of Manchester businesses by same-sex marriage advocates. Douglas Manchester had made significant financial contributions to the Proposition 8 anti-gay marriage initiative last year.
The State Bar of California refused to move its yearly convention, unlike the CCBA. The State Bar’s Annual Meeting remained at the Hyatt despite the boycott.
SDNN Legal Correspondent Garrison Klueck can be reached through his Web site at www.familylawsandiego.com.
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