Hear Ye! Order in the Court : Case Overload Forces Trial at Historic Site

In 1947, Judge Robert Gardner had to try his very first case in a jury room at the Old Orange County Courthouse because there was no place else to hold session.

On Monday, nearly 45 years later, Gardner was back in the three-story red sandstone building for the same reason: Nothing else was available.

“This time I get the courtroom,” said the 80-year-old retired judge, who has been hired by the county temporarily to hear cases and help ease the caseload.

“I like it here,” he said of the historic courthouse, which, until Monday, had been closed to court operations since 1979. “I think (the county) should keep it open full time.” It hasn’t come to that yet, but county officials say the lack of courtroom space is forcing them to come up with innovative ways to deal with its burgeoning caseload.

According to Lynn Fenton, an operations analyst for the Superior Court, the Old Courthouse was drafted into service because “there simply was no room anywhere.”

“We’re at full capacity right now and we’ve hit an overflow period,” Fenton said.

In an effort to cope with the overflow, two makeshift hearing rooms were recently set up to handle Juvenile Court cases, Fenton said.

In addition, court officials are looking into other solutions, such as using space at the County Hall of Administration and a mock trial courtroom at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton. However, Fenton said, neither of those ideas have been approved.

Officials said the sheer number of cases being filed, coupled with a state law requiring faster disposition of cases, is overloading the system.

In fiscal year 1990-91 alone, 69,681 criminal and civil cases were filed in Orange County Superior Court. Although that total was down from the 70,808 cases filed the previous year, the number of dispositions increased--from 64,414 cases in 1990-91 compared to 63,500 the previous year.

Superior Court Executive Officer Alan Slater said the 1990 state law aimed at streamlining court operations and speeding up cases has put a strain on the courts.

Other counties in California have also had difficulty “coping” with the same law, Slater said. He noted that officials in San Diego County have rented hotel rooms to hold some of their trials.

In an effort to help alleviate the burden, court officials in Orange County on Monday authorized Gardner to hold trial in the Old Courthouse and allowed another temporary judge to try a case in a cramped conference room on the second floor of the 11-story County Courthouse down the street.

While the litigants in the conference room were unhappy with what they described as “the closet courtroom,” the participants at the Old Courthouse were quite pleased with their surroundings.

“It’s fun,” said Paul Nyquist, an attorney trying a breach-of-contract case before Gardner. “It takes you back to what it must have been like years ago.”

Said his co-counsel Teresa Fineman: “It’s a different atmosphere than across the street. I like it. . . . But my feet are freezing.”

Heat was just one of the amenities lacking in the Old Courthouse on Monday morning. There were no computers, chair cushions, microphones or even telephones. In fact, there was only one electrical outlet in the entire courtroom.

What it does have, all agreed, is plenty of character.

For Gardner, who retired from the 4th District Court of Appeal 10 years ago, it was a chance to relive the glory days of the venerable courthouse, which looks today much as it did when he was on the bench.

“I’ve tried a lot of cases here,” Gardner mused with a nostalgic smile.

But even he noticed some flaws.

“The acoustics are terrible with these high ceilings . . . and that is the most uncomfortable chair in all of Orange County,” he said as he pointed to his seat behind the judge’s oak bench.

The Old Courthouse, the oldest in Southern California, was built in 1901 and stood as the center of the county’s judicial affairs until 1968, when most of the court operations were moved to the newer, 11-story complex. All court activity in the building ceased in 1979. The building underwent a $4.5-million renovation in the early 1980s and reopened in 1987 as a county museum and historical center.

The Old Courthouse, which has been a set for several movies, is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Superior Court Overload

Orange County officials say the sheer volume of cases filed in Superior Court and a 1990 state law requiring faster disposition of cases are forcing them to come up with innovative ways of coping with the overload. The following shows the number of civil and criminal cases filed over the last three fiscal years and the number of cases adjudicated.

Year Filed Dispositions 1988-89 71,420 60,200 1989-90 70,808 63,500 1990-91 69,681 64,414

Source: Orange County Superior Court.