Supreme Court Delays Cases in Quake’s Wake : Justice: As staff scrambles in cramped temporary quarters, plans are made to move some hearings to Los Angeles.

SAN FRANCISCO —  The state Supreme Court on Friday canceled its monthly session of oral arguments set for December, saying the disruption from last week’s earthquake will prevent adequate preparation for the hearings.

An unspecified number of cases that ordinarily would have been heard by the court here during the week of Dec. 4 will be set for hearing in Los Angeles the week of Jan. 8, Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas said.

Meanwhile, the federal appeals court that was forced to abandon its damaged headquarters here has reopened for limited operations in a commercial office building atop a Carl’s Jr. restaurant at the edge of the city’s seedy Tenderloin District.

“Under the circumstances, we were lucky to get it,” said Cathy A. Catterson, clerk of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. “. . . And it makes lunch quick.”

It may be two years or more before the five judges and 200 staff members at the circuit’s San Francisco site can return to the building on 7th Street they occupied before the quake. Only about half of the staff can be accommodated at the new location--and others are being encouraged to work at home until more space is found, Catterson said.

The state Supreme Court’s unusual cancellation of its monthly argument calendar came as the justices struggled to resume routine business after the Oct. 17 quake.

The older half of the block-square state building the court occupies suffered considerable damage, forcing the justices and their 100-member staff to squeeze, with other state employees, into the newer portion of the structure that has been declared safe.

The court issued no decisions this week but, as it would normally, did file scores of orders, most of them denying or granting petitions for review. Just the same, the atmosphere was hectic, with staff members wearing blue jeans, sweat shirts and other casual attire as they relocated furniture, equipment, records and legal briefs in the building--often while stepping around busy workmen.

The seven justices--who were forced to abandon their relatively secluded chambers in the damaged section--set up makeshift offices in less-spacious quarters. Court members’ names were hastily taped on doors, and some of the justices are sharing an office with clerks and staff attorneys.

The court clerk’s office, which like the rest of the building had been closed immediately after the quake, began at midweek to accept the filing of briefs and other documents by attorneys. The state Judicial Council, the rule-making arm of the state judiciary, issued what it called “earthquake emergency” rules granting lawyers two weeks extra to file appeals.

Even before the Oct. 17 temblor, the court had been scheduled to move to new quarters while the building underwent a $150-million asbestos-removal and earthquake-reinforcement renovation.

Although the quake did extensive structural damage to the 70-year-old section of the building, the court’s records--including those stored in computers--escaped unscathed, spokeswoman Lynn Holton said.

Nonetheless, the disruption in operations will preclude the justices and their staffs from reviewing briefs, preparing memoranda and taking other steps to get ready to hear arguments by attorneys at the December session, she said. It is not yet settled what cases will be heard at the January meeting in Los Angeles.

Work already has been largely completed on nine cases set for hearings during the week of Nov. 6 that are to be held in Sacramento and at a special session at Santa Clara University, Holton said. Those hearings will go on as scheduled, she said.