State Senate Panel OKs Increase in O.C. Judges

A measure that would give Orange County 10 new Superior Court judgeships and add three judges to the South Orange County Municipal Court cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday when it won the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But prospects for the bill, sponsored by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), remain uncertain because the proposal is likely to become entangled in party politics and budget wrangling before the year is out.

The bill would increase to 69 the number of judges in Orange County Superior Court. The South County Municipal Court would go to seven judges from the present four.

The committee approval comes less than 2 weeks after the Orange County Bar Assn. filed suit against the state in an effort to force funding for more trial and appellate court judges. The suit contends that a backlog of thousands of cases in Orange County has created a “chilling effect” that discourages residents from seeking relief in the courts.

Predicts Bill’s Survival

Bergeson predicted that her bill would survive its next test in the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which she serves, and that it would clear the Senate floor. But she was not as optimistic about the bill’s chances in the Assembly. The chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, Democrat Phillip Isenberg of Sacramento, has said he wants to combine all measures that seek more judges into a single bill under his own name.

Bergeson said there is “a good deal of disagreement in the Senate” with Isenberg’s proposed approach, which could lead to a reduction in the number of judgeships allotted to Orange County. But she said it is likely her bill will eventually be combined with other similar measures in a two-house conference committee.

Another hurdle for the bill could be the Democrats’ possible reluctance--never stated publicly--to approve judgeships at a time when Republican Gov. George Deukmejian has announced that he is retiring in 1990.