On March 4, 2025, Inland Action met with San Bernardino County Presiding Judge Lisa Rogan and San Bernardino County Assistant Sheriff Trevis Newport.
Judge Rogan and Assistant Sheriff Newport spoke on the state of our San Bernardino County court system including courthouse needs and the status of the current appointed judges. Judge Rogan shared a video of the status of the High Desert courthouse including crowded hallways with defendants, attorneys, jurors, judges, courthouse staff, and witnesses all sharing the same narrow hallway creating a safety and privacy issue for everyone. Due to the overcrowding of the courthouse, cases are delayed or transferred to other regions. Currently, the Inland Empire has the highest need for additional judges with San Bernardino County needing 27 more judges and Riverside County needing 22. The next County with the highest need is Kern County with a need of 11 and all others are either in the single digits or overstaffed. Los Angeles County is over-judged by 75 judges.
Judge Rogan and Supervisor Rowe will be traveling to Sacramento in late March to advocate for this need. Inland Action’s Judiciary Committee will be following up with both Rogan and Rowe post-trip to determine how we can continue to share the message during our April advocacy trip to Sacramento.
Assistant Sheriff Trevis Newport shared with the membership that the crowded courthouse will only increase due to not only increased population, but also the implementation of Prop 36. That being said, Assistant Sheriff Newport asked the IA membership to share two important items with others:
- Now that Prop 36 is in place, please resume calling the police regarding theft. So many residents stopped calling because they realized that nothing could be done.
- Share with community that behavioral health is also being addressed with additional funding. Available beds have increased from 100 beds to 300 beds.