LAGUNA HILLS : Riley, Roth Propose New Court Schedule

Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Don R. Roth have proposed a new scheduling plan for the South Orange County Municipal Court that they say will save money and speed up trials. The Board of Supervisors will consider the $87,600 proposal next week.

“Although it is difficult to authorize additional expenditures given the financial pressures currently faced by the county, I firmly believe that the schedule will result in a savings to the county,” Riley and Roth said in a joint letter to their colleagues Tuesday.

The new schedule would have judges and other court officers work 10 hours a day four days a week. The courts would still operate five days a week, and the schedule would allow an extra court session every evening.

Roth has been pursuing the schedule proposal, known as “4-10,” for nearly a year, but many local judges greeted the idea coolly. Roth says he believes it will make more efficient use of courtroom space and also help relieve overcrowding in the county jails by disposing of cases and freeing people who are being held awaiting trial.

Riverside and Los Angeles counties already have similar programs, and it “appears to be working successfully,” Roth and Riley said in their letter.

The recommendation comes at a time when the county is wrestling with huge budget problems, and implementing the schedule would require spending more money this year. The money would pay for two more deputy marshals, a courtroom clerk and a traffic trial commissioner. Although the county has a hiring freeze on new positions paid for with general funds, the proposal specifically exempts those four positions from the freeze.

By letting the courts expand their operations at relatively little cost, the new schedule should quickly pay for itself, Roth said.

South Court could begin trying out the plan as soon as the new positions are approved, and it could serve as a pilot program for other courts.

The supervisors will consider the plan on Tuesday.