‘Fort San Fernando’ : Courthouse Fosters Reputation for Cordiality and Toughness

The convicted burglar stood in San Fernando Superior Court Judge Meredith Taylor’s courtroom, surveying its throw rug, several potted plants, flowers and half a dozen landscape and travel posters.

Taylor greeted the man by name, told him it was nice to see him again and, recalling a neck brace he had worn earlier, cordially inquired if he was feeling better.

The startled convict answered in the affirmative.

“I think a lot of defendants think this lady’s gotta be easy because she’s so nice, but she’s tough on them,” said Taylor’s law clerk, Deborah McCullough. “She’s not a pushover.”

The exchange was not what one might have expected between a judge and a criminal. But then again, the setting was not your typical courtroom--or courthouse, for that matter.

Five Years

In many ways, Taylor’s pleasant attitude and underlying strictness reflect the cozy but hard-nosed atmosphere that has developed over the five years the San Fernando Courthouse has been in operation. Early on, the courthouse was dubbed “Fort San Fernando” amid hopes for a reputation for tough sentencing, and a small-town friendliness has emerged within its halls as well.

“It has more of a community feeling,” said Superior Court Judge Dana Senit Henry, who has served at the courthouse since it opened in 1983. “I find there really is more congeniality here on all levels--from D.A.s to public defenders to the clerks. We’ve all become just good friends.”

“It’s a very congenial place to work as opposed to other courts I’ve worked in,” said Gregg Marcus, supervising judge of the Municipal Court at San Fernando. “It’s smaller and more personal than the courthouses in Van Nuys or downtown.”

Newest Building

The San Fernando Courthouse is the newest of the 19 buildings in the Superior Court system in Los Angeles County. The $27-million, 4-story structure was designed in the Mission style popular throughout San Fernando and serves 16 communities from the northern San Fernando Valley through the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Its quaintness inspires admiration from the judges, defense lawyers, prosecutors and others who work at the courthouse and often regard it as a home away from home.

“It’s not as architecturally oppressive as the downtown Criminal Courts building,” said Municipal Judge Michael S. Luros. “There’s a lack of starkness; there’s a softer appearance in the physical surroundings.”

With its homey look, Taylor’s courtroom is a case in point. But the judge’s penchant for decorating and her gracious manner belie her low tolerance for crime. Though no one keeps statistics on judges’ sentencing patterns, she is known around the courthouse as a hard-liner who often sends convicts to prison for the maximum term.

Indeed, the sentences meted out throughout the San Fernando Courthouse appear to be stiffer than in some larger courthouses. San Fernando has a higher number of convictions resulting in prison sentences than its counterparts in Santa Monica and Van Nuys, for example. Out of 1,990 felony cases resolved in 1987 in San Fernando, slightly more than half the defendants--1,069--were sent to prison, according to the Los Angeles County Clerk’s office. At the Van Nuys Courthouse by comparison, about 37% of all felony defendants received prison sentences. And in the Santa Monica Courthouse, about 25% of all felony defendants were sent to prison.

The real reason for the difference lies in severity of crimes that occur in San Fernando’s jurisdiction, particularly the growing number of gang-related cases in the area, many attorneys and judges say. The courthouse’s jurisdiction includes the Los Angeles Police Department’s top two high-crime districts in the Valley: the Foothill and North Hollywood divisions.

In addition, misdemeanor drug violations are routed to the Van Nuys Courthouse, freeing San Fernando to take on more felonies, said Richard P. Byrne, presiding judge for the county’s Superior Courts.

“I think it’s tougher than some other areas because we have a higher volume of heavy cases and more serious crimes,” said Bitner Winckler, head deputy public defender at the court.

Nevertheless, many of the professionals at the San Fernando Courthouse swear by their belief that the court consistently takes a no-nonsense approach to law and order.

“We do have a reputation for being tough sentencers,” said Superior Court Judge John H. Major, supervising judge of the Superior Court at San Fernando. “I think we’re just doing our job the way we see it.”

Felony Charges

Prosecutors at San Fernando insist they are stricter than their counterparts elsewhere, often opting to file felony charges for offenses that, by law, could have been classified as misdemeanors.

Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Billy D. Webb recalled that a few years ago, a San Fernando judge sentenced a repeat offender to three years in state prison for selling a moderate quantity of drugs.

“If he had sold the dime bag three blocks away, he would have gone to another courthouse and gotten 30 days in County Jail,” Webb said.

“It’s probably the toughest courthouse in the county,” agreed Michael Morse, a defense lawyer with the Alternate Defense Counsel, which handles court-appointed cases.

From the beginning, officials hoped the courthouse would come to be regarded as such.

No Playground

“I nicknamed the place Fort San Fernando,” said Armand Arabian, now associate justice of the state Court of Appeal, who opened the court and served as its first supervising Superior Court judge. “I wanted to be sure Valley folks knew this was not going to be a playground.

“That bell tower almost looks like a gun tower,” Arabian said. “It’s there as a symbol in beautiful Spanish architecture to let the citizens know if you commit a crime that justice is swift, certain and substantial.”

Arabian is widely regarded as the person responsible for setting the tenor of the courthouse.

The first time he went to look at the new building, he was hooked, Arabian said. “There was dust in the hallways and all that, but I kind of fell in love with it.”

Those who started at the courthouse five years ago with Arabian were caught up in his infectious enthusiasm.

“We really had a feeling of, ‘We’re going to put this thing together and start it off right,’ ” Deputy Dist. Atty. Meredith Rust said.

Sense of Cooperation

Today, the sense of cooperation and smallness of the courthouse has made it a seemingly ideal place to test experimental programs that seek to improve the justice system.

One prosecutor who calls the courthouse “the Petri dish” noted that its size makes monitoring results of pilot projects easier. In the past year, programs testing ways to speed up arraignments and divorce cases have been launched at the courthouse.

Most of all, though, the courthouse has emerged as a place where traditional courtroom rivalries take a back seat to camaraderie and pleasantries.

“Even though it’s busy and it’s fast, you feel like it’s home,” said McCullough, Taylor’s law clerk. “We’re like a family.”