Superior Court judge critical of the way funding is handed out

Judge Tia Fisher tells Warren Olney tonight on KCRW's "Which Way, L.A.?" that the Administrative Office of the Court has done a poor job divvying out funds throughout the state. Rather than focus on day-to-day operations, Fisher says the AOC has spent too much money on pet projects that were hatched by former Chief Justice Ronald George. Fisher, who is a Superior Court judge in Pomona, said the administrative office has been used to "reward and punish" judges. From the LAT:

San Francisco County Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein took jabs at the statewide administrative office that runs the court system and lectured judicial leaders about their solemn duties. She said her court has sent layoff notices to 41% of staff and plans to close 25 of 63 courtrooms while the Administrative Office of the Courts has been devising grandiose schemes that "are sucking tens of million of dollars from the trial courts." "San Francisco may have been the first trial court to fall, but I know that others are soon to follow, and you know that too," she said. The cuts stem from decisions by the state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown to raid court construction funds and chop the court's operational funds to close a state budget deficit.

The concern is that the L.A. Superior Courts may feel the pinch as well - not great news for a court system that already has been ravaged by budget cuts. "Which Way, L.A.?" is on at 7, and the show goes online sometime after that.