Monday, August 6, 2012

Sacramento County Family Court Presiding Judge Matthew J. Gary Provides Details On Court Cutbacks To Family Law Bar - Leaves Public In Dark

Court Earns FCAC Poster Child of the Month Award

Family Court Presiding Judge Matthew J. Gary recited a laundry list of family court services cuts in an exclusive, February 2012 presentation to attorneys from the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section. 

 

Gary has yet to provide the same statistics and data to the general public, including the 75 percent of family court users who don't have a lawyer. The March, 2012 issue of the Sacramento County Bar Association Family Law Section newsletter, Family Law Counselor, reported what the presiding judge revealed to the for-profit attorneys who practice in family court:
  • Family Court Services (FCS) is down two mediators and has no ability to replace them.
  • Public counter wait times routinely exceed five hours.
  • Processing of drop box legal documents may be delayed for days or weeks due to lack of staff resources.
  • Court phones are shut off at noon for lack of staff to field calls.
  • The branch law library was closed.
  • The Computer Room at the Self-Help Center was closed.
  • The Self-Help Center itself is now serving 10,000 fewer litigants than in years past due to the lack of resources.
  • The court no longer pulls retention or related files for hearings because of the lack of staff in the court's records unit. This means that the court routinely does not have the entire file for review at a hearing.
In addressing the 75 percent of family court litigants who cannot afford legal representation, Judge Gary provided the following abridged version of his speech, which is posted throughout the public areas of the courthouse

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