Judicial Shift Welcomed
The decision of the Ventura County court system to shift one judge hearing criminal cases to the civil courts is a welcome development for any litigant waiting for civil justice. I only wish the decision could have been made sooner.
My husband and I filed a Superior Court action in August, 1986. In the five years since, we have had at least 10 court appointments at which our trial was supposed to start. Each appointment has required our Los Angeles attorney to travel to Ventura. Even though the county has provided a new East County Courthouse, almost no services for civil cases are available. All parties in our case have stated they were ready for trial for at least the last three years.
The stereotype of the civil litigant is the person who files a frivolous claim and ties up the court system to get rich quickly. There are thousands of us out here, waiting for a courtroom, who do not fit that stereotype.
We are victims of the civil criminal, who gets away with his crime because time and the system work in his favor. We deserve justice too.
JEAN RUECKER, Simi Valley
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