R20;We are no longer able to try all pending criminal cases in the departments normally assigned to try them,” said Judge Waters. “Criminal cases have strict time limits. If we cannot begin a criminal trial within the time limits, the case must be dismissed. We regret the delay in trying civil cases, but we have no choice. We cannot allow criminal cases to be dismissed unless we have used every resource available to us.”

While caseloads have expanded with the increasing population of the county, the number of judges has not kept pace. Since the year 2000, Riverside County’s population has increased by 20 percent. During that same time period, the bench of the Riverside County Superior Court has grown by only one judge. There are now 3.7 judicial officers per 100,000 county residents – the lowest ratio ever. Among the 14 largest (most populated) counties in the state, RiversideR17; ratio of judicial officers to population is the lowest.

R20;The Board of Supervisors has recently authorized substantial increases in staff to our justice partners, the Sheriff, the District Attorney and the Public Defender, to deal with their expanding caseloads,” Judge Waters observed. “A bill to give us additional judges so that we could keep pace has stalled in the state legislature. Even that bill gives us far fewer new judges than we need, as shown by independent studies. It is simply no longer possible to try all the cases with a judicial staff only one greater than we had in the year 2000.”

Trials of small claims, landlord-tenant, family law, and probate cases will not be delayed by the suspension. However, Judge Waters cautioned that even those cases may be delayed in the future if temporary suspension is not effective in relieving the press of criminal cases.