California Administrative Office of the Courts

From Judgepedia

The California Administrative Office of the Courts (CAOC) administers the entire state court system in California. The CAOC serves under the direction of the Judicial Council of California.

The AOC's main office is located in San Francisco, where nine divisions are located.^[1] Two divisions are located in Sacramento. The AOC also maintains three regional offices.

William C. Vickrey is the Administrative Director of the Courts. Ronald G. Overholt is the AOC's Chief Deputy Director.^[1]

The AOC has more than 900 employees.^[1]

AOC Priorities

The AOC is responsible for "a variety of programs and services to improve access to a fair and impartial justice system serving the courts for the benefit of all Californians" and is led by Director William Vickrey and his Chief Deputy, Ronald Overholt.^[2] A robust conversation has taken hold in California concerning whether the AOC's stated purpose to serve "for the benefit of all Californians," undermines the Constitutional mandate of an independent judiciary.^[3]

The AOC has awarded numerous contracts with outside consultants/contractors which illuminate its stated mission of serving for the benefit of all Californians. ^[4] Contracts for consulting services that have been awarded since 2001, include "Illustrators for 'Courts in the Classroom' Law-Related Education Website," a "Talent Agency to provide actors to the AOC Education Division," a web designer for the "California Peer Court DUI Prevention Strategies Project," a consultant for the "Evaluation of 2008 California On My Honor: Civics Institute for Teachers," a consultant for "Court Users Research and Technical Assistance Project," a "Blue Ribbon Commission Public Education Consultant," a consultant for "Collaborative Justice Court Recruitment, Training and Curriculum Development," and a consultant to evaluate "Jury Service Video for Possible Reuse as an Educational Tool for Secondary Schools."^[5]

The AOC through its Center for Families, Children and the Courts, administers grants and oversees an extensive list of projects including "Caregivers and the Courts," "Collaborative Justice Court," the "Family Violence Project," and the "Equal Access Project," to name a few.^[6]Director William Vickrey was honored for his work expanding legal services for Californians with an Open Door To Justice Award presented to him on behalf of the Public Interest Clearinghouse by Chief Justice Ronald George.^[7]

Divisions

Appellate and trial courts

Chad Finke is the director of the Appellate and Trial Court Judicial Services division. This division makes decisions regarding judicial assignments, appointed counsel, case coordination, and case management.

Families and children

Diane Nunn is the director of the Center for Families, Children & the Courts. CFCC concerns itself with the administration of justice to families, youth, children, and self-represented litigants in the California courts.

Education

The Education Division/Center for Judicial Education and Research is directed by Diane E. Cowdrey. It develops programs for judges, court staff members, and AOC staff members.

Executive Office

The Executive Office Programs Division is directed by Kenneth L. Kann. It works on logistical, analytical, and management services for the Judicial Council of California, the AOC, and the courts.

Finance

The CAOC's Finance Division engages in budget planning, asset management, accounting, procurement, and contract management for the judicial branch and the trial courts. Stephen Nash is its director as well as being the Chief Financial Officer for the CAOC.

Human Resources

The Human Resources Division, directed by Ernesto V. Fuentes, does human resources planning for the judicial branch in the areas of recruitment, classification, and compensation; pay and benefits administration; labor and employee relations; integrated disability management; personnel policy development; and human resources information systems.

Information Services

Mark W. Dusman is the director of the CAOC's Information Services Division. This division coordinates court technology throughout the state.

Court construction

The Office of Court Construction and Management (OCCM) division is run by director Lee Willoughby. It manages facility aspects of all state courthouses in California, including day-to-day operations and maintenance, renovation projects, and new construction. In December 2009, OCCM completed transfer of all 532 court facilities in the state.^[8]

OCCM is implementing a "large and growing program that includes new construction and major remodeling projects." The consolidation of court management at the state level has created a program "unique in its scope and scale." Current construction projects include more than 50 courthouse projects with an estimated total cost of $6.5 billion.^[9]

The AOC's "Temples of Justice" exhibit portrays California's historic courthouses.^[10]

General Counsel

Mary M. Roberts is the General Counsel for the CAOC. This office, according to the CAOC's website, "provides high-quality, timely, and ethical legal advice and services to the Chief Justice, the Judicial Council and its committees and task forces, the AOC, and the courts. The office has two major functions: (1) house counsel and (2) “rules and projects”—development of rules of court and legal forms."

Governmental affairs

Curtis L. Child is the director of the CAOC's Office of Governmental Affairs. This division of the CAOC lobbies the California state legislature in order to "promote and maintain positive relations with the legislative and executive branches and advocates for the council on legislative and budget matters."

Controversies

As California's state budget ran into significant problems in 2009, the CAOC came under increasing fire for these reasons:

• High cost of its planned centralized case management system.
• Its decision to close the state's trial courts for one day a month, while not making cuts to its own budget.^[11]
• Hosting an expensive conference in June 2009, at the same time that budget cuts for the trial courts were being contemplated. The conference had 70 participants, a room tab of $42,000 and a $40,000 budget for facilitators. The conference was about "The California Judicial Branch Budget Crisis.” ^[11]
• Lack of transparency. By statute, (Cal. Govt. Code Sect. 6252(f)) the California judicial branch is exempted from compliance with the California Public Records Act. San Diego Judge Runston “Tony” Maino is one of a group of California judges who say that the CAOC and the Judicial Council of California ought to be subject to the California Public Records Act.^[12] In January 2010, in response to legislative mandate, California adopted a new Rule 10.500 (Public Access to Judicial Administrative Records) to clarify and expand the public’s right of access to judicial administrative records.^[13]
• Salary increases during a time of budget cutbacks. Payroll costs at the AOC grew by $4.2 million in 2008, an increase of 6% over 2007.^[14] The AOC promoted some 80 employees in fiscal year 2008/2009. Critics called the increases "indefensible". The AOC defended the increases as specific and limited to the year prior to budget cutbacks.^[14]

California Court Case Management System

The California Court Case Management System (CCMS) is one of the the largest information technology projects that the state has ever initiated. The AOC began the project in 2002, following direction from Governor Gray Davis to create the system and the receipt of $21 million in seed funding. The project is still in development, with an eventual total cost estimated at approximately $1.3 billion.^[15] Critics say that the system still isn't functional and point out that its eventual cost will work out to more than $20 million per county. Critics also questioned spending on the system "...at a time when we are cutting teachers, cops and firefighters to save money".^[11][16] In February 2010, the AOC was also criticized for engaging in lobbying behind the scenes to persuade members of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that further scrutiny of plans for the controversial system was unnecessary.^[17] On February 17, 2010, the joint committee voted to audit the project following a technology review conducted by the state's chief information officer.^[18] The CIO's report, issued April 23, 2010, concluded that the project "has been challenged to date with scope, schedule, and cost definition and control due to incomplete information, early lack of adherence to project management processes during the initiation stage, and the size and complexity of the effort. Despite these setbacks and future risks, the OCIO believes the project is at a point where there is more reason to move forward than to stop the project."^[15] The AOC currently has not identified budget resources to complete statewide deployment of CCMS.

Court closures

The 2009 California budget crisis led to state worker furloughs, including furloughs of court workers. The Judicial Council, at the AOC's recommendation, mandated statewide court closures one day per month from September 2009 through June 2010. Union resentment against furlough/closures led to demonstrations in front of AOC offices in July 2009.^[19]

Fallout from statewide court closures triggered calls for a state audit of the AOC. In the ensuing months, criticisms of the AOC became more widespread and increasingly vocal, with some judges publicly challenging the AOC's spending and urging their colleagues to join an effort calling for an audit as well as reforming the Judicial Council.^[20] Court employee unions also questioned the AOC budget in light of court closures. Chief Justice Ronald George responded by calling the criticism "unwarranted" and defended the AOC as an efficiently run organization.^[21]

Governance and oversight

The state legislature has responded to calls for increased oversight of the AOC through a variety of actions. A state Assembly oversight committee (the Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review) conducted a hearing on October 28, 2009 to review the AOC.^[22] Committee members noted that the AOC hearing garnered more attention than any probe they've conducted to date. Dozens of witnesses testified during the six-hour hearing. ^[23] As noted earlier, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted in February 2010 to audit the AOC's CCMS project.^[18] In spring 2010, the state assembly introduced legislation sponsored by state employee labor unions, AB 2521, to eliminate the Judicial Council’s authority to audit trial courts and institute regular audits of the AOC by the state Controller’s office or the Bureau of State Audits.^[24] Another bill, AB 1749, was introduced to clarify whistleblower protections within the judicial branch, including the AOC.^[25] In April 2010, Chief Justice Ronald George said he would create a 10-member advisory commmittee to review AOC operations in an effort to improve oversight. However, critics questioned whether a committee comprised of the chief's appointees and many council members could be truly independent.^[26]

Contact information

Administrative Office of the Courts
455 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102-3688
Phone: 415-865-4200

External links

• Website of the Administrative Office of the Courts in California
• AOC Watcher, a watchdog blog that keeps tabs on the AOC
• Legal Pad, a blog covering California court news published by Cal Law, publisher of The Recorder newspaper

References

v • d • e Administrative Offices of the Courts States Alabama • California • Mississippi • Nevada • New York • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • Utah Federal Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

v • d • e Courts in California State appellate courts California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal State trial courts California Superior Courts Federal appellate court Ninth Circuit Federal district courts Central District of California • Eastern District of California • Northern District of California • Southern District of California Federal bankruptcy courts Central District of California, bankruptcy • Eastern District of California, bankruptcy • Northern District of California, bankruptcy • Southern District of California, bankruptcy