SACRAMENTO -- — Higher fees for parking tickets, traffic school, criminal convictions and civil court filings would pay for $5 billion in improvements to California's deteriorating courthouses under a proposal announced Monday by the chief justice of the state Supreme Court and legislative leaders.
Penalties on criminal convictions would rise by $40. The state fee for attending traffic school would go from $24 to $64, and $2 would be added to parking tickets. The cost of filing civil cases would increase by $25 to $35, depending on the type of case.
"The physical condition of California's courthouses has reached a state of crisis," Chief Justice Ronald M. George said. "Some court buildings are in such desperate shape that they no longer provide a safe and secure environment for conducting everyday court business."
Some courthouses are in danger of collapsing in an earthquake, while others are so crowded that judges conduct hearings in the parking lot, George said during a news conference in the state Capitol.
George said he toured facilities in Los Angeles and elsewhere and was shocked to see jurors waiting for hours in stairwells, where they had to periodically move out of the way as chained prisoners were taken to courtrooms.
In southeast L.A. County, conditions were so bad that a judge who is an amateur carpenter built a bench and other furnishings so a restroom and other space could be turned into a courtroom.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) has introduced legislation that would allow $5 billion in bonds to be issued to address the worst 40 of the state's 450 court facilities, including the $122-million construction of a courthouse for southeast Los Angeles County. The borrowing would be offset by the new fees.
"Everyone is guaranteed a day in court, but in California that right is jeopardized by inadequate facilities that threaten the safety of everyone in the building," Perata said.
Perata's proposal would require approval by two-thirds of the state Legislature. It would not require voter approval because the new fees would cover the costs.
His bill has already drawn opposition from the California Public Defenders Assn. and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. Some opponents say the poor would suffer if fees were increased on parking tickets and criminal convictions.
"It's just pandering to the public, and seldom are our clients in a position to pay anything of that kind," said Michael Crowley, president of the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar.
