Warning to Orange County Supervisors : Presiding Judge Criticizes New Plea-Bargain Policy

Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks’ new plea-bargaining policy will cost taxpayers more than $6 million this year, and it has flooded the court system with a workload that has “far surpassed” available resources, Orange County’s presiding Superior Court judge told county supervisors Friday.

In an eight-page letter hand-delivered to each of the supervisors, Judge Harmon G. Scoville also said that the increased workload caused by Hicks’ policy may make it necessary to hold court sessions at night and to hire up to 15 lawyers as acting judges.

Scoville said “fairly drastic measures” must be taken in the next “several months” to avoid a judicial gridlock that threatens to freeze private citizens involved in non-criminal cases out of the court system.

On Oct. 9 Hicks prohibited his deputies from discussing felony plea bargains in judges’ chambers, a practice long followed in Superior Court. Hicks has said that he was simply trying to bring the public’s business out into open court.

However, many defense attorneys have said they cannot ethically enter into frank plea-bargaining discussions in open court. As a result, many more criminal cases have been scheduled for trial, and--because criminal cases have a priority over civil cases under state law--there have been few courtrooms available for civil trials.

Scoville’s letter was the first thorough-going assessment of the impact of Hicks’ new policy and the first time the county’s top judge has publicly criticized that policy.

Hicks could not be reached for comment.

Supervisors Roger R. Stanton, Don R. Roth and Thomas F. Riley declined comment late Friday, saying they had not had a chance to study Scoville’s letter. Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder could not be reached.

Hicks’ policy and the natural growth in court business have “generated and sustained an explosion of criminal and civil litigation that has far surpassed the capacity of our current judicial resources, support staff and space,” Scoville’s letter said.

“The extent of our present shortage of judicial resources and space is severely impeding the court’s ability to serve the needs of the civil litigants of this county,” the letter said.

Scoville mentioned a steadily increasing caseload and lack of funding for more judges and courtrooms. But he also pointed specifically to the impact of Hicks’ policy.

This month, civil cases set for trial have been delayed or interrupted in mid-trial to accommodate the court’s increasing criminal workload, Scoville said.

Relative Costs

The total cost of operating a criminal courtroom is $5,490 a day, more than four times the cost of operating a courtroom for a civil case, Scoville said. That, Scoville said, is because of factors including the costs of increased security, prisoner transportation and defense attorneys that are provided at public expense.

Since Hicks’ policy went into effect last October, “additional county costs may conservatively be exceeding $500,000 per month,” Scoville wrote.

With few exceptions, Orange County’s 64 Superior Court judges and commissioners have steadfastly refused to comment on the new plea-bargaining policy. And Scoville acknowledged that it is “certainly” Hicks’ “prerogative” to set his office policy.

But Scoville also stated that the change “goes well beyond the restriction on negotiations imposed by Proposition 8,” the so-called victim’s bill of rights, passed in 1982.

Scoville’s letter included a plea for help with funding for additional judges and more courtroom space. Noting that no new judgeships could be created by the Legislature before 1988 and that a long-sought new criminal courts building would not be available if approved for many years, Scoville listed immediate options that are now being considered:

- Night court, operating between 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. That also would mean morning court sessions would have to start early, at 8 a.m. Scoville said the “cost and feasibility” of getting double duty out of the same courtroom each day is being evaluated.

- Building seven new courtrooms at an old court facility on Homer Street in Anaheim. But even if funds were available, state legislation permitting judges to hold court in that location would be required, Scoville wrote.

- Leasing space at an unspecified location in Santa Ana to house 10 family-law and probate courtrooms.

- Hiring 10 to 15 lawyers to serve as court commissioners. The lawyers would sit as judges in civil cases only if all parties agreed. Scoville estimated the cost at up to $120,000 for four months.

- Providing judges with “pre-plea” reports containing the information about suspects that they received in chambers from prosecutors and defense lawyers before Hicks’ policy change. Probation officials estimate the cost at $500,000, Scoville said.

“However, it remains one of our only viable options should the increase in criminal filings and lack of early dispositions persist,” Scoville stated.

Scoville, who could not be reached for comment on the letter, wrote that supervisors’ quick response to staff and space needs is critical to the “ability of the Superior Court to meet the basic litigation needs of the citizens of Orange County.”