Area Found to Be at Least 1 Judge Short

The number of criminal cases handled by the Antelope Valley’s lone Superior Court judge increased significantly in the first six months of this year, continuing a dramatic four-year rise, statistics show.

Court officials said the numbers, which were compiled as part of an ongoing study by the Lancaster office of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, underscore the need for at least one more Superior Court judge in Lancaster.

By the end of this year, the number of cases filed in Superior Court will more than triple contrasted with the 1986 total of 328 cases, the study says. Prosecutors filed 510 cases in the first six months of 1990 and a total of more than 1,000 are projected, one-third more than last year.

In addition, projections indicate that 550 criminals will be committed to state prison from the court this year, five times more than the 105 committed in 1986. There were 274 state prison commitments in the first half of the year, contrasted with 447 in all of 1989.

Chief Deputy County Clerk Eric Webber said last week that rapid population and crime increases have increased the need for more judges in the Antelope Valley. But Webber, whose office administers the court system, said there is a shortage of judges countywide.

“It’s a systemwide problem,” he said. “It may be more acute in the Antelope Valley, but the solution needs to be systemwide.”

Lancaster Superior Court Judge Margaret M. Grignon is responsible for felony criminal cases as well as civil cases and some family law cases. A part-time commissioner hears juvenile cases and another commissioner handles family and probate law.

Statistics show a need for two more judicial officers, according to Superior Court administrators in Los Angeles. A new county courthouse that would add nine Superior Court judges is planned for construction in the next five years.