Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Page 3
High Court to Close Los Angeles Clerk’s Office Dec. 31
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The California Supreme Court will close its satellite clerk’s office in the Ronald Reagan Building at the end of the month, a court spokesperson said yesterday.
The decision to close the office was made for budgetary reasons, following a review of the work processed by the office and the cost of operations, the spokesperson said. The office, located at 300 S. Spring St., will be shuttered at the close of business on Dec. 31.
Chief Justice Ronald M. George explained in a statement that the Supreme Court “regrets making this decision, but it is important during tough economic times to carefully scrutinize the court’s filing practices and procedures and find cost savings and efficiencies where possible.”
He thanked the supervising deputy clerk and two deputy clerks who staff the office for their “loyalty and dedication to excellent public service.”
Like the court’s headquarters office in San Francisco, the Los Angeles office receives Supreme Court filings and documents from court users. After the initial case data is entered into the automated system, all case files and documents are shipped to the San Francisco office, where additional clerical work is performed before the cases are assigned to the court’s legal staff.
Effective Jan. 1, all petitions for review, writs and legal briefs must be filed directly with the Clerk’s Office at the Earl Warren Building, First Floor, 350 McAllister St., San Francisco.
The closure of the Los Angeles office will not change the Supreme Court’s practice of regularly holding oral argument in Los Angeles, the spokesperson said.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company