SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Recrimination and rancor abounded at a meeting of California's Judicial Council where members eventually voted unanimously to give a $2.5 million bailout from the branch's emergency fund to the financially strapped San Francisco Superior Court.
The fracas began when Court Executive Officer Michael Yuen said San Francisco would reject the money that was contingent on several provisions attached at the last minute. Calling the agreement brokered by the judiciary's Administrative Office of the Courts a "charade," Yuen said, "I will not allow my court to succumb to unnecessary micromanagement of our financial affairs."
In reproaching incoming interim AOC director Ron Overholt for negotiating on behalf of the council in what he characterized as bad faith, Yuen claimed documents presented at Friday's meeting had been altered from the original agreement he signed with Overholt to give the floundering court emergency money with no strings.
"It was our understanding that the Judicial Council had given Mr. Overholt the authority to negotiate on your behalf," he said. "In light of this delegated duty, it is outrageous that this agreement was not presented to you as executed by both parties."
"Instead, frankly what we have here is a charade," he continued. "It is an embarrassment not only for the council but for the incoming interim director of the AOC. It's a doctored version that was never presented to Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein or to me."
The new document presented seven conditions the court would have to meet to receive the $2.5 million and makes no mention of a promise from the AOC to push for increased funding from the Legislature and give the court an additional $650,000 grant to keep two civil litigation courtrooms open.
Among other things, the conditions require the court to refrain from closing any courtrooms, compile a detailed report on how the money will be spent, submit to an audit by the AOC on how it spent the money and submit several additional reports on how the court plans to implement cost-saving measures. The court would also be required to repay the money from any remaining funds it has at the end of each fiscal year through 2015.
"We find the conditions totally unacceptable and frankly, insulting," Yuen said.
He also took issue with a provision of the document that says the council could choose to give San Francisco less than the initially agreed upon $2.5 million. "Let me make clear that I cannot and I will not subject my employees anymore to a yo-yo effect caused by prolonged uncertainties as to whether the AOC and Judicial Council will have the will and demonstrate the commitment to help trial courts like us keep our doors open," Yuen said.
But Yuen was even angrier that the option up for a vote did not even include a statement of the AOC's commitment to seek legislative help for the branch, as the original agreement had. "The agreement pledged the council to work to advocate for legislation that would allow any trial court to generate and retain certain new revenues," Yuen said.
"The thought of trial courts achieving financial independence from the AOC is apparently a scenario too radical to consider, let alone support by actively seeking the passage of such legislation," he added. "The time has come and the momentum is building within the branch for such critically needed outside-the-box thinking. With or without the support of the Judicial Council and the AOC."
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