PRESIDENT’S REPORT
path and it may well be that a combination of paths is the best way. We believe that undertaking several parallel paths in a concerted action is the best way to respond. To get more money it may require that we do more than one thing because the fi nancial situation that the courts are currently in today is severe. And we can’t necessarily rely on one option to make enough money to solve the problem.
Q: What’s your hope for the meeting with the chief justice?
A: We would like to explore the practical options that are available for the courts and discuss ways in which the
Bar Association of San Francisco and other associations can assist the courts in their quest for more money, and hopefully reaching a mid- to long-term solution.
Q: Some lawyers were surprised to learn about the $4.6 million in reserve funds the superior court announced
last week. Did you know about it beforehand?
A: No. I didn’t know about the court reserves. I don’t know if anyone could have known because the books were only recently closed.
Q: Is BASF pressuring the court to spend that money?
A: We don’t have enough facts about the reserve at this juncture. What we do know is it’s up to the presiding judge to do what she feels is fi scally responsible.
Q: Some in the legal community are concerned that Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein is crying wolf to le-
verage more funding from the state or Judicial Council. Is that a concern you share?
A: I don’t believe she’s crying wolf. The San Francisco courts are going through a fi nancial crisis, with or with-
out that reserve, and they need our help. The Bar Asso- ciation is committed to helping the courts through this crisis by fi nding ways to address the funding shortfall in the medium and long term.
Q: Is there anything all parties can agree on? THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 9
A: Everyone acknowledges there’s a need for access to justice, and that not having a strong and well-funded ju-
diciary puts our democracy at risk. The judiciary is not just another interest group clamoring for money from the Legislature — it is the third branch of government that represents access to justice and enables law and order. Removing funding from the courts to the point where it is weakened and can’t function is tantamount to the dismantling of the third branch of government by the legislative and executive branches. An underfunded judi- ciary is not only a denial of access to justice to individuals and to businesses, it is a threat to our democracy. The Bar Association of San Francisco is committed to fi ght for the independence and the fi nancial fortitude of our judicial branch.
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