Judging from e-mails and phone calls, there's a lot of talk swirling around about the furlough lawsuits argued last month in Alameda Superior Court.
Here's a Q & A, based on questions we've fielded:
I thought Judge Frank Roesch would issue rulings in the four cases he heard on Nov. 16 in Alameda Superior Court fairly soon after the oral arguments. Why hasn't he?
The judge is deciding four cases and no doubt wants to write rulings that won't be overturned on appeal. The court has 90 days from the hearings to render its decisions.
But it's been nearly a month since the hearing. Is that a sign Roesch is going to side with the governor?
Who knows? Roesch didn't commit to issuing a ruling within days or a week of the Nov. 16 hearings. We were there and didn't hear the judge set any deadline.
But maybe we missed something. It happens. So we checked with SEIU Local 1000 spokesman Jim Zamora, who also attended the hearings and took notes. He asked the union's legal team. All agreed, Zamora said, that no one has any "inside info" about when the judge might issue decisions or what those decisions might be.
"We're eagerly awaiting the judge's ruling," Zamora said this morning.
But this is an open-and-shut case. Simple. And remember that Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette ruled immediately that the governor has emergency authority to furlough. So if these Alameda cases make open-and-shut arguments, then why the delay?
The cases may not be all that simple to decide. Folks with a vested interest in an outcome tend to quickly favor arguments that boost their position and quickly discredit arguments that don't. Judges are supposed to weigh all arguments in light of the law. That can take time.
Having said all that, the judge could issue rulings five minutes after we post this item.
What's up with the appeals on the Marlette ruling, anyway?
Read the latest news on the original furlough lawsuit appeal by clicking here.
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