Local News in Brief : Court Opened in School
In a new approach to relieving the shortage of space that plagues the county court system, Santa Monica Superior Court is using a high school auditorium this summer for civil trials.
County workers have erected benches and desks on the stage of Santa Monica High School’s art-deco Barnum Hall, and the backstage dressing rooms have been renovated to serve as jury and judges’ chambers.
Judge Richard G. Harris said that from 10 to 15 trials could be heard during the summer in the makeshift courtroom.
School officials agreed to let the court use the auditorium free of charge. The court will pay for utilities, insurance and refurbishing.
Harris said he expects the experiment to be accepted by lawyers and litigants.
“They might not like being on stage . . . but it gets their cases heard,” he said.
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