On May 21, a memorandum was sent to all administrative presiding justices and presiding judges in California outlining changes to the statewide Assigned Judges Program (AJP) resulting from a review of that program. Some years earlier the AJP had been commenced by the chief justice under the authority of Article VI, Section 6 of the California Constitution to expedite judicial business and to equalize the work of the judges by temporarily assigning retired judges and justices to cover vacancies resulting from various circumstances.

The May 21 memorandum states that, effective with the commencement of the fiscal year on July 1, and subject to case-by-case exceptions, the current 33,000 annual service days provided under the program will be cut by 50 percent. Retired judges enrolled in the AJP will now be limited to a maximum of 120 assignment days annually, and to a cumulative maximum of 1,320 days, the equivalent to a six-year term of an elected Superior Court judge. The reduction is expected to be gradual in order to limit disruption to ongoing court calendars.