Petitioners Fail in Bid to Recall Karlin : Courts: Group does not gather enough signatures for a ballot measure. Judge was criticized after she sentenced a Korean-born grocer to probation in the killing of a black girl.

Ending a season of political conflict for Superior Court Judge Joyce A. Karlin, leaders of a recall campaign against the judge have failed to gather enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.

Compton Councilwoman Patricia Moore, the chief proponent of the recall effort, said she decided against submitting the petitions to county officials after she discovered that the group had fallen short by 50,000 of the required 304,000 valid signatures. The deadline for filing was Monday.

“There was no sense,” Moore said. “It would have cost the taxpayers a lot of money to go through the arduous process of trying to qualify signatures when we knew they were not valid.”

Karlin was thrust into the center of a political firestorm last year when she sentenced a Korean-born grocer to probation in the killing of a black teen-age girl. The decision exacerbated racial tensions in Los Angeles and also prompted Moore, joined by other black activists, to launch the recall campaign to force the judge from office.

Moreover, her probation sentence landed Karlin in a tough battle for her job during the June primary. The judge, who was appointed to the Superior Court less than a year ago, faced three challengers in the June election and squeaked by with 50.7% of the vote.

With the recall measure no longer a threat, Karlin--who has been transferred to the Juvenile Court--can finish her term without having to face another campaign.

“I am pleased and hopeful that the passion and divisiveness of the recent election is finally behind us,” Karlin said in a statement released Tuesday by her campaign consultants. “More than at any time, Los Angeles needs healing and unity. . . . Now, I hope we can all work together for a better county for every person who lives here.”

Yet, the threat of recall may not be over for Karlin. The law permits the recall backers to renew their efforts next year, after Karlin has been sworn in for her new six-year term, which ends in December, 1998.

According to Marcia Ventura, a spokeswoman for the county registrar-recorder’s office, the recall backers may begin circulating a new petition on April 4, 1993--90 days after Karlin is sworn in. In order to place the measure on the ballot next year, they would have to gather 267,000 signatures--20% of the votes cast in Karlin’s June primary race.

Although Moore said she intends to renew the recall effort, she acknowledged that it may be even more difficult to succeed the second time, when anger over the death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins has cooled and the case has faded from public memory.

“It’s hard, because we don’t have the wherewithal to keep the issue alive, and people do go on,” she said. “The attention span of most Americans is maybe two days long. . . . But we’re determined. Latasha’s memory is still very much in our hearts.”

Latasha was shot to death in March, 1991, by Korean-born grocer Soon Ja Du after the grocer and the girl fought over a bottle of orange juice, which Du had accused Latasha of trying to steal. A jury found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter. But Karlin, citing Du’s lack of a criminal record and other factors, gave her a 10-year suspended sentence, five years of probation, 400 hours of community service and a $500 fine.

Latasha’s death also sparked a civil suit against Du and her husband, Billy Hong Ki Du, who together owned the now-defunct Empire Liquor Market in South Los Angeles, where the girl was killed.

On Tuesday, attorney Leon Jenkins said he has reached an out-of-court settlement in which the Dus’ insurance carrier will pay an undisclosed amount to Latasha’s younger brother and sister, Vester Acoff Jr., 11, and Christina Harlins, 9.

The settlement must be approved by the court. Jenkins said a hearing is scheduled before Superior Court Judge Gary Klausner on Monday.