Nor do they expect money to hire the additional 30 to 60 judges needed to keep up with a swelling caseload. Warily watching Los Angeles' struggles, Thrasher has vowed to be ready if criminal trials ever begin to take over civil courtrooms in Orange County. To ease backlogs, he plans to ask attorneys to volunteer without pay to serve as temporary civil court judges. Los Angeles County has no such contingency plan. And Klausner predicts that the delays will get longer.
Cooper speaks from experience.
Although she is a civil judge, she has presided over more criminal than civil trials this year. She was forced to interrupt one civil trial two months ago when a criminal matter came up, and so far has not been able to resume it. Like most civil judges, she has worked in criminal courts and feels comfortable handling the cases. But the delays on the civil side frustrate and frighten her. People in our society live with the knowledge that if they need help, they can go to the courts and get it.