High Percentage of Contra Costa Felonies End in Conviction

Prosecutors in the Contra Costa County Superior Court obtained a higher percentage of felony convictions than their counterparts in Alameda County last year, according to numbers published Wednesday in the Judicial Council of California’s annual report.

While the report found that the total number of cases filed in California’s courts declined by nearly 10 percent from 2011 to 2012, the council cautioned that years of budget cuts have altered the state’s judicial system for the worse.

“Although we’re uncertain about the conclusions, council members and our justice system partners are certain about how budget cuts have affected the public and have impacted access to justice—including reduced hours and closed courtrooms, fewer law enforcement officers on the street, and the reallocation of resources to focus on certain case types or services,” council member Doug Miller said in a press release.

Judges in Martinez are far from the busiest in the state. With 50 judges and 172,470 filings in 2012, Contra Costa County Superior Court ranked 32 out of 58 in terms of filings per judge. Alameda was 16 out of 58. The 11 judges in Imperial County Superior Court contended with the largest ratio of filings per judge.