2018 State of the Court

STATE OF THE COURT REPORT | 2018 EDITION

CHILDREN’S

WAITING

ROOMS

CIVIL SETTLEMENT WEEK BRINGS PARTIES TOGETHER TO RESOLVE CASES WITHOUT GOING TO TRIAL SBCSC began its Civil Settlement Conference Week program in 2015. SBCSC has continually been an under-resourced court, with civil caseloads doubling that of the state average. As a type of Alternative Dispute Resolution program, Civil Settlement Conference week strives for parties to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of their dispute without going to trial. During settlement week, parties and counsel of selected cases, and those that volunteer to participate, meet for a private settlement conference conducted by a mediator (volunteer attorneys from a local bar association). Since its establishment in 2015, the program has maintained a success rate of over 50 percent―where parties have reached full or partial settlements without going to trial. In 2018, 225 cases were scheduled for settlement week and of those, 130 matters were either settled or dismissed. This saved approximately 650 trial days as a result of these matters being resolved prior to going to trial. The program’s success directly ties to the continued partnership with volunteer attorneys from the San Bernardino County Bar Association, High Desert Bar Association, and the Inland Empire Chapters of the Western Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, and Consumer Attorneys of California.

Children’s Waiting Rooms (CWRs) are a free service offered Monday- Friday, from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., for children two and one-half years old (toilet- trained) and up to 14 years of age whose parents or guardians are conducting court business at the San Bernardino Justice Center, Historic and Fontana Courthouses. Modeled after successful waiting rooms in courthouses of other counties, this program provides a place for creativity and imagination away from the courtroom.

In 2018, the CWRs served approximately 1,750 children county-wide.

FONTANA COURTHOUSE

BARSTOW COURTHOUSE

JOSHUA TREE COURTHOUSE

COURTHOUSES THAT

HANDLE SMALL CLAIMS/ LANDLORDS TENANT

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT (SBCSC)

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