Public defender says Alameda court strike led to rights violations

Alameda County's public defender said felony court proceedings had gone ahead without court reporters - a violation of state law and the Constitution - because of a court staff strike Wednesday and Thursday. But the court said it protected defendants' rights with electronic recording and argued this should be used more widely.

Public Defender Brendan Woods' office filed two petitions for emergency relief on Wednesday with the Court of Appeal, demanding that the Superior Court comply with the law requiring an official court reporter in felony court proceedings.

Alameda County courts were forced into an "emergency operations plan" on Wednesday when court staff - including all court reporters -- went on strike following a breakdown in negotiations over salaries, workloads and understaffing. The strike, which continued into Thursday, also left the courts without clerks and managers, disrupting court hearings and the processing of lawsuits.

Woods said in a news release, "We stand in solidarity with the courtroom clerks and court reporters - they are the backbone of our legal system and need to be paid fairly and well trained. However, we also believe that no one should face felony proceedings without the safeguards provided by a qualified court reporter."

The petitions claim the court violated the "statutory and constitutional right" of at least two indigent defendants.

In a general order on Wednesday, Chad Finke, court executive officer /clerk of court, explained the Alameda County Superior Court's justification for using electronic recording as all 40 of its full-time court reporters were on strike. The document amounted to a treatise on the history of court's mounting problems with the lack of court reporters and restated please to the Legislature to change the law that restricts electronic recording.

The order said that, "As a last resort to preserve the appellate rights of litigants and carry out the Court's 'duty in the name of public policy to expeditiously process civil cases,' this General Order permits individual judicial officers of the court to authorize the electronic recording of hearings at which fundamental rights are at stake and where no reporter is reasonably available."

The public defender's writs stated: "The only justification respondent court provided for denying the request was that a court reporter was not 'reasonably' available. Respondent court found that because petitioner could not afford to hire a private court reporter, it would use a recently installed electronic recording device in the place of a court reporter."

The petitions claimed there had been a "looming" threat of strike action by court staff for months and the court's contingency plan "did not ensure compliance with the law."

The court's general order said the court reporters had not given notice they would strike on Wednesday.

Woods added: "Under California Law, an indigent person is entitled to an official transcript in felony matters. We filed this writ to ensure that fundamental rights - such as due process and equal protection - don't become casualties of a labor dispute.

"This isn't just about one case, it's about ensuring that every person who steps foot in a felony courtroom - no matter their income - has the same opportunity for a fair hearing, a reliable transcript, and the means to appeal if necessary. We will continue to take every legal step available to protect those rights."

In a press statement on Thursday, the court said: "Critical cases are being held but many civil, family law, traffic and probate cases are being delayed.

"Although the union claims it is concerned about public safety it has refused the Court's repeated efforts to mediate these matters before neutral mediators and has instead as chosen to critically endanger the public's access to justice by choosing to strike."

Kasha Clarke, a courtroom clerk for the Superior Court of Alameda County, working out of the Hayward Hall of Justice said in a press release on Thursday, "All day yesterday, management accused us of slowing down court business and not doing right by the public, but the public was the least of their concerns last year when they issued furloughs that sent our members home without pay and deprived the public of our services.  

"We need to have our concerns - our real concerns - addressed at the bargaining table, from understaffing to undertraining to unfair practices. Management can claim this is all about money, but that simply is not true."

Service Employees International Union 1021, which is leading the strike, said in a press release on Thursday: "This understaffing crisis contributes to untrained workers being pressed to perform tasks beyond their job classification, which reduces the quality of service the public receives and hampers the work of the County's justice system. 

"This second day of the unfair labor practice strike could halt trials and delay hearings throughout the justice system in Alameda County, impacting everything from felony cases to divorces, custody cases, and traffic proceedings."