Chief Justice Releases Status Update to SEC Report

June 5, 2012

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Chief Justice Releases Status Update to SEC report

Interim Director says 57 of 147 recommendations from Strategic Evaluation Committee completed or in process of being completed

Jody Patel, Interim Director of the Courts

SAN FRANCISCO—Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye today released a report from Interim Administrative Director Jody Patel on the current status of the Administrative Office of the Courts in light of the recommendations made recently by the Strategic Evaluation Committee.

The Chief Justice requested the status update after receiving the May 25 SEC report, which is to be presented to the Judicial Council at its June 20th meeting. Specifically, the Chief requested that Patel report on the changes made to the organization since the Chief Justice assumed office in January 2011. After reading the SEC report, Patel informed the Chief Justice that 57 of the approximately 148 recommendations had already been completed or were in process of being completed when the SEC report was presented to the Chief Justice on May 25th.  The status report is available here.

The Chief Justice released the following statement along with the status report:

"In the interests of transparency—and so that information for the Judicial Council and the public will be current—I am releasing Jody's update immediately. As soon as I received the SEC report and read the recommendations, I asked Jody to provide a status report on all changes to the AOC that have been adopted or are underway and address the concerns and recommendations contained in the SEC report.

“The AOC has undergone many changes in the last 18 months, not only in leadership but also in structure. Further, I asked Jody to send a copy of her status report of the AOC to the Judicial Council members and to the chair of the SEC, Judge Charles Wachob of the Superior Court of Placer County. In addition, I anticipate that the Council also will be focusing on the effect of the recommendations on the Council’s service to the public as well as to the courts when it studies the SEC report and the status report.”

"I formed the SEC in March of 2011.While the SEC performed its important work in the intervening 55 weeks, however, the Judicial Council and the AOC had already begun to make changes to governance, leadership, and oversight as resources for the courts continued to be significantly reduced. That work is continuing. When Jody became Interim Director four months ago, at my direction she began fast-tracking reorganization plans whenever possible in view of potential further financial depredations to the judicial branch. I am looking forward to hearing her report to the council on June 22 as part of the council’s consideration of its next steps following submission of the SEC’s work product.”