Budget Cuts Are Leaving Night Courts in the Dark

Barry S. Michaelson wishes his problems more closely resembled those of his television counterpart, “Night Court” Judge Harry T. Stone, whose main challenges stemmed from the antics of his lothario prosecutor.

Michaelson is a commissioner who presides over the traffic portion of Orange County’s evening program, which has a more serious plight: Night court has been slashed from weekly to monthly.

It’s impossible to squeeze into one monthly session all those who want their small claims cases heard or to fight a traffic ticket, Michaelson said. As a result, many can no longer rely on the convenience of Orange County’s night court, he said.

“It just makes the court so much less user-friendly,” he said. “It interferes with people’s lives more than we should have to.”

In an era of government belt-tightening, night court -- designed decades ago as a way to accommodate the working class -- has become too expensive in some counties.

In Los Angeles, night sessions have been cut in some courts. In Santa Cruz County, traffic night court was eliminated last month after 20 years of service. Orange County scaled back to monthly sessions last year. In each case, it’s not a lack of customers that has forced the reduced night sessions. It’s the cost.

Orange County’s evening sessions, which start at 5 and end about three hours later, are often the only time some people can easily come to court, Michaelson said. Reducing the sessions’ frequency is unfair, potentially tacking on hundreds of dollars in missed wages to an already-costly traffic ticket, he added.

Those present for the March night court session -- about 100 in Michaelson’s Santa Ana courtroom -- agreed. Although many said they had to leave work early to make sure they got to the Santa Ana courthouse in time, they said it was preferable to taking the entire day off to be at court in the morning.

“I didn’t want to fight traffic in the morning or take all that time off,” said Randall Kotula, a cable TV installer from Brea. “It totally makes your life easier.”

Kotula, 35, was in court for a citation for driving 86 mph on the freeway and flicking cigarette ash out of the window. The littering normally entails eight hours of graffiti cleanup, but Michaelson waived that duty once Kotula promised to try to quit smoking.

In Los Angeles County, five of the 17 courthouses that hold night sessions have reduced programs to save money, said court spokeswoman Pat Kelly. Pomona, Santa Clarita, Compton, Pasadena and Van Nuys West now hold night court twice a month, rather than weekly.

Traffic night court had been held weekly in Santa Cruz for 20 years until last month, when budget cuts forced the court to eliminate the program. The county still holds a monthly small claims night court in Santa Cruz and an evening traffic program in Watsonville.

The cutback will save the county about $20,000, said Santa Cruz County Superior Court fiscal officer Roy N. Blaine.

“It was difficult to make the decision, and it’s not something I feel good about,” he said. “It’s an impact on the public. It was a purely economic decision.”

There are exceptions, however. The volume of users in San Bernardino County prompted court officials recently to expand the program from monthly to twice a month. They would never consider eliminating the program, considering the court rakes in hundreds of thousands of dollars each month from the state-mandated $1 filing fee tacked onto each ticket and case to fund night court, said Presiding Judge Peter H. Norell.

“It would be crazy to give that up,” Norell said. The courts have adjusted interpreters’ and bailiffs’ schedules to trim night court costs, he added.

Without Orange County’s night court, high school senior Jason Antonio would have had to take a day off from school to deal with a speeding ticket -- something his mother said she would have found hard to tolerate.

“I’d rather take off work early than have him miss school,” said Nanette Antonio, 42, of Corona. “It’s very much of a convenience to the working people.”

Her son wasn’t entirely pleased with the experience. Michaelson didn’t fine him because he’s a high school student, instead imposing 20 hours of community service, an essay on the dangers of speeding and, most distasteful to the 17-year-old, 10 hours of household chores.

“Every minute you’re doing them, you’ll wonder why you were going so fast,” Michaelson told the boy, who covered his eyes with his hand and shuddered.

Like television’s Stone, known for dispensing jokes as often as justice, the Orange County commissioner presides with a light hand.

During the March night court session, he teased one woman who had been ticketed for speeding 110 mph, asking her if she was a pilot in her spare time.

He remained poker-faced at the beginning of the session as he reminded his audience they could plead not guilty by reason of insanity, making them bubble with laughter.

“I take my job seriously, but a speeding ticket is not the end of the world,” Michaelson said before the session. “Most important to me is treating everyone with dignity.”

That dignity shouldn’t include unduly inconveniencing people, even when it saves the court money, he said.

“I don’t know the budget numbers,” he said. “I just know the results.”