Justice Sakauye served as the keynote speaker at a gathering of the legal community in Fresno on Monday. She says the judicial branch's budget has been cut 30 percent since 2009. She adds, "Courts are closing, people are being laid off. Court workers are being furloughed." She says court workers have an increased work load and cases are backing up.
The justice was sworn into office earlier this year. She is the second woman to serve as the state's chief justice and the first Asian Filipina American to hold the position.
