Starting in October, South County residents will have to drive to Santa Clara or San Jose to contest traffic citations or file civil claims.
Starting Oct. 6, Santa Clara County Superior Court will close the traffic, civil and small claims courts at the Morgan Hill Courthouse, according to a press release from Superior Court Presiding Judge Brian Walsh.
The same court services will also close at the Palo Alto courthouse.
Residents with traffic violations will have to travel to the Santa Clara Courthouse to contest their citations or pay fines. Those filing or fighting small claims or civil suits will have to go to the downtown San Jose courthouse.
The closures are part of the local court’s effort to close an $8.5 million operating deficit due to “significant and continuing” cuts by the state of California, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court Executive Officer David Yamasaki.
The closures won’t fill that entire gap, but the court is looking at other ways to reduce the remainder of the deficit, Yamasaki said.
“Obviously, personnel represents the core of our budget, about 85 percent,” Yamasaki said. “We have to look at our personnel costs to help remedy this problem.”
Currently, 22 staff people deliver traffic, civil and small claims court services out of the Morgan Hill and Palo Alto facilities.
The loss of traffic court services will likely produce the heaviest impact on South County residents. The Morgan Hill facility serves about 22,000—or 13 percent—of the county’s total traffic cases, Yamasaki said.
Civil and small claims in South County represent about 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively, of the county’s total, Yamasaki said.
