Medix Ambulance Service, Inc. v. Superior Court

We realize that the demands made on busy

trial judges approach, if they do not already exceed, the unrealistic. This is particularly true in counties such as Orange County where all civil cases are immediately assigned to direct calendar courts. Judges with heavy case loads are expected to preside over trials, hear law and motion, rule on ex parte applications, conduct settlement and status conferences, and perform additional administrative duties. All this under the requirements of the Trial Court Delay Reduction Act (Gov. Code, § 68600 et seq.) and the Standards of Judicial Administration (Cal. Stds. Jud. Admin., § 2.3) which include a directive that 90 percent of all civil cases be “disposed of within 12 months after filing . . . .” (Cal. Stds. Jud. Admin., § 2.3(b).)

It is thus no surprise that, in their need for efficiency, trial judges have adopted procedures to streamline litigation. Most of these procedures have beneficial effects, causing disputes to be resolved more quickly and more efficiently without sacrificing the ultimate goal of the judicial process: the delivery of just results. But, in adopting these new, efficient procedures, judges must remember…