Judge Shortage in Riverside County to Delay Trials

Because of a severe shortage of judges, Riverside County Superior Court will suspend most civil trials for more than a month to help chip away at the backlog of criminal cases, Presiding Judge Sharon J. Waters announced Wednesday.

The civil trials will be postponed from Dec. 12 through Jan. 20, with longer delays possible. Criminal cases, however, must be tried within constitutionally mandated time limits.

Riverside County's ratio of 3.7 judicial officers per 100,000 residents is now the lowest of the state's 14 most populous counties.

The court handled more than 441,000 filings in fiscal year 2003-04, an average of about 6,400 cases per judicial position, according to the California Judicial Council. The county's population has increased by one-fifth since 2000, but the court has added only one more judge.