2018 State of the Court

STATE OF THE COURT REPORT | 2018 EDITION

WORKLOAD & FINANCIAL DATA

THE WORKLOAD-BASED ALLOCATION AND FUNDING METHODOLOGY FOR THE CALIFORNIA TRIAL COURTS

Each year, the Governor of California proposes a state budget and makes an appropriation to the Judicial Branch which consists of the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, superior courts, the Judicial Council and its staff, and Habeas Corpus. The Judicial Council allocates funding among the 58 trial courts primarily using a formula implemented in 2013 called the Workload-based Allocation and Funding Methodology (WAFM). Under WAFM, funding is based on a court’s workload and filing counts averaged over a three year period. In addition to recognizing the number of filings, WAFM also integrates weights by case type, depending on the time and resources needed to handle certain cases. The weights are based on time studies from thousands of court employees, in numerous courts, and are refreshed every few years to reflect any changes. Based on the time and resources to handle different case types, WAFM calculates the amount of staff required to support each trial court. Every two years, the Judicial Council is required to report to the Legislature and Governor on the total need of new judgeships in each superior court. To determine judicial need, the Judicial Council uses a weighted caseload method using three types of data: filing data, case weights, and the estimated amount of time judges have available for case processing. Currently, SBCSC has an unmet judicial need of 38 judgeships. At only 70 percent resourced, judges in SBCSC continue to carry heavy caseloads when compared to other counties within California. Despite limited resources, SBCSC continues to provide consistent, impartial and accessible administration of justice. A remarkable achievement for our historically under-resourced County.

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