The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is pleased to announce the adoption of an expedited trial program. Newly-adopted General Order No. 64 (“Expedited Trial Procedures”) offers parties the option of consenting to a binding one-day trial to occur six months after the parties agree to the process. Its purpose is to offer litigants access to justice in a more efficient and economical fashion. General Order No. 64 may be viewed on the court’s website at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/generalorders.
Published in The Recorder“There are more than $4.6 million good reasons to keep our civil courts open,” says San Francisco attorney Christopher Dolan in a recent letter to The Recorder. The letter refers to debate over whether to tap the San Francisco Superior Court’s reserves to keep civil courts open and functioning as they reel from budget cuts.The issue of court underfunding has become prominent in California, with San Francisco’s struggling courts serving as the problem’s poster child. This fall, San Francisco will close 25 courtrooms and lay off more than 175 employees, which may contribute to longer lines, drawn-out cases and a crippling of the city’s justice system.