(Sacramento) – Governor Schwarzenegger today signed AB 159, Assemblyman Dave Jones' legislation giving the Governor 50 new judicial appointments to help ease the state's overburdened justice system.    

Upon learning of the Governor's approval of the bill, Jones commented:  "California's judicial system is straining under the pressure of too few judges facing too many cases.  Unfortunately those paying the biggest price for this lack of sufficient judges are our constituents, whose ability to get quick and resolute justice is diminished.  My legislation will make a critically-needed 'down payment' on the Legislature's goal of adding at least 150 additional judges to our beleaguered justice system by the end of next year."   

In addition to authorizing the appointment of 50 additional judgeships, Jones' legislation will also, for the first time, allow for the immediate conversion of 16 subordinate judicial officers into full judgeships upon vacancy.  Such lesser judicial officials are intended to perform non-judicial duties under the supervision of judges.  Due to the on-going shortage of judgeships, many courts have used such officials as de facto judges -- hearing the most complex and sensitive cases including felonies, family law, domestic violence, and juvenile matters.  Jones' measure will create a more appropriate mix of judges and so-called SJOs, reserving judges for judge work, and having SJOs only perform appropriate duties.

In celebrating the enactment of AB 159, Jones' noted that his legislation not only addresses the substantial deficit in the current number of judgeships, it also makes important new progress in the Legislature's continuing efforts to address the shocking lack of racial and gender diversity in California's judiciary.  "I am particularly pleased to note that this year's judgeship legislation not only adds more judges into the pipeline, but equally importantly targets the need for those who select our judges to dramatically improve their efforts to address the stunning 'diversity gap' that remains in our judicial branch.  The fact is, there are many highly qualified minority and female Bar members in California who seek to serve our state as judges – and we are still not taking sufficient advantage of their sizable talents.  My bill calls upon the Bar to cast a much broader net when evaluating the types of legal experience that make for excellent judges.  It also continues to call for more statistical data to assist the Legislature in ensuring that more minorities and women can and do become judges to much better reflect California's great diversity."