Supervisors OK New Court District for High Desert

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday approved a new court district for the Antelope Valley, in a move that could transfer administration of the court from San Fernando to Lancaster and improve service to the public.

The proposal must be incorporated into a state bill and approved by the Legislature before the North District--the county’s 12th--can be created, because a 1959 state law set a limit of 11 districts for Los Angeles County, said Ellen McCarthy, spokeswoman for the Judicial Council of California.

“When you don’t have a district out there, it’s a stepchild,” said Judge Ricardo Torres, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court system.

Currently, the court is managed through the North Valley District, headquartered in San Fernando. Torres said neither of the two judges nor the two court commissioners assigned to the Antelope Valley court live in the area, and he said he hopes that establishing a separate district might encourage some to move there.

“You want some pride, some permanency, some collegiality,” he said. “This could help.”

The proposal also reflects the rapid growth of the Antelope Valley in the 1980s and the belief that the far-flung area will continue to attract another wave of urban refugees when the recession ends.

Under state law, a new district in Los Angeles must serve a population of at least 250,000, a number the Antelope Valley passed several years ago.

The Antelope Valley is scheduled to have a new courthouse in spring 1996, which would include an expansion from four to nine courtrooms and additional on-site file storage. Whether establishing a separate district would create costs beyond those already planned for the expansion remained unclear Tuesday.

Lori Howard, justice deputy for Supervisor Mike Antonovich--who proposed the 12th district--said there would be no additional administrative costs and “we would want to see more judges out there with or without an additional court district.”

But Judy Call, deputy executive office for the Los Angeles Superior Court, said additional administrators--such as a court manager--might be added if the state approved funding for them in the future.

Being a separate district could give the Antelope Valley some increased clout in negotiating for a share of such funds, she agreed.

Los Angeles is the only county in the state with 11 districts, a total reached in 1983 when the North Valley District in San Fernando was carved away from the Van Nuys-based Northwest District, Call said.

Although Call acknowledged that adding a district is largely a procedural move, she said she believes it could have some tangible effects.

“Our hope is that we would be providing improved services to the community,” Call said. “Formalized boundaries would provide clarity for filings . . . and establishing a district identity and some teamwork out there among judicial officers and employees may lead to improved service.”