Senator Roth Continues the Fight for Greater Access to Justice In Inland Southern California

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) introduced SB 75 which would add 26 new superior court judgeships to underserved regions across the state, including Inland Southern California where the majority of the judicial need in the state is concentrated. “Every day we see the real impacts of our overwhelmed justice system in case dismissals, delayed trials and more. If we as a State truly believe in justice, we must provide it in a timely fashion to every Californian regardless of zip code” said Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside). “While we have recently made significant strides to correct this social injustice, an urgent need for new judgeships remains, which is why I am proud to continue to lead this charge.”

Since 2016, Senator Roth has led the effort to address the need for more judicial resources across the state. In 2017, the Senator was successful in securing new trial court judgeships and an Appellate Justice position for Riverside County – the first new trial judge positions in the state since 2007 and the first new Appellate Justice position in California in 18 years. The Senator was successful again in 2019 when he secured funding for 25 new trial court judges for the State Trial Court system, $30.4 million in the 2019-20 budget and $36.5 million on-going.

Despite these great strides, a critical need for additional judicial resources in underserved areas of the State continues to exist. Based on the Judicial Council’s 2022 Judicial Needs Assessment, 98 new judicial positions are still needed in the State, and of those, 52 positions are needed in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, representing 55 percent of the overall need in the State.

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