Civil Justice Is Speedier in Courts These Days : Jurisprudence: Judges and lawyers say the 1990 state Trial Court Delay Reduction Act to streamline operations has brought remarkable results in Orange County and some of the busiest courts.

The fire that trapped telephone worker Michael Grammer in a Costa Mesa manhole 2 1/2 years ago burned him over 70% of his body--and plunged his family into poverty.

Grammer, 37, and his wife, Vicki, have had to care for their four young sons on $336 monthly that the injured cable splicer received from workers’ compensation.

But last week, as a jury was deliberating in his negligence lawsuit against Pacific Bell, the telephone company agreed to pay Grammer $1 million.

Only two years ago, the Grammers may have had to wait up to five years for the case to go to trial. But now, people who file lawsuits are getting their day in court sooner because once-congested California courts are dispensing speedier justice by reducing the wait to get a courtroom.

Judges and lawyers say the Trial Court Delay Reduction Act--passed by the state Legislature in 1990 to streamline court operations--has brought remarkable results in Orange County and some of the state’s busiest courts.

In Orange County, civil cases now get to trial in about 17 months, compared to the three- to five-year wait before 1991, recently compiled Superior Court statistics show.

It’s a similar story in Los Angeles County, where court administrators say cases are being heard in about 18 months.

And in San Diego County, the average time to trial from the date of filing is even quicker: 14 months.

“There is the (saying) that when justice is delayed, justice is denied,” said Donald Smallwood, presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court. “What we are doing now is speeding up justice and the litigants are being far better served.”

The fast-track system had revolutionized the way lawsuits were been handled for decades, placing the pace of litigation in the hands of judges--instead of lawyers.

Under the old court procedures, different phases of a complex case were argued before different judges.

But now, much like the way federal judges handle cases, state civil court judges are assigned lawsuits at the time of filing and oversee cases from pretrial machinations through trial. The courts have also adopted rules that set up stricter deadlines for attorneys. And judges can sanction lawyers who slow down the process.

A few lawyers say the new rules sometimes compromise justice in favor of speed. But many more say that the new rules reduce paperwork, streamline procedures and cut down on legal gamesmanship.

Michelle Reinglass, president of the Orange County Bar Assn., said the new rules force opposing attorneys to work together to resolve disputes.

“Everybody is under the same pressure,” Reinglass said. “Lawyers who are facing deadlines say, ‘Hey, we’re all in this together. There is no need to file this action or that response, so let’s work together to accomplish what we need to do.’ ”

The fast-track rules also encourage lawyers to settle cases instead of going to trial.

Of the nearly 19,000 civil cases filed in Orange County last year, only 5% are expected to reach trial, Smallwood said. The remainder will be settled in different stages: evaluation conferences, arbitrations and mandatory settlement conferences.

“The parties have to face the realities earlier that a jury of 12 will be deciding their fate,” Smallwood said. “The mere fact that a trial is going to start sooner settles more than 90% of the cases.”

Last year, thousands of individuals and corporations filed lawsuits claiming such losses as injuries in slips and falls and medical malpractice, breach of contract and the wrongful death of loved ones. And an additional 13,000 wives and husbands filed court actions announcing their marriages were over.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Luesebrink, who sits in Harbor Court in Newport Beach, said he has seen his caseload shrink from 1,400 to 650 cases in recent years.

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“I think with the new system, attorneys are much more selective as to which case they file,” Luesebrink said. “It’s miles ahead of what we were doing before.”

Arthur Jones, presiding judge of San Diego Superior Court, said the fast-track system has worked “like a charm” in the county’s 19 civil courtrooms.

“I would match our court’s performance against any court in the United States,” Jones said. “I’ll go even farther than that. I would buy lunch for anyone who can find a more efficient court.”

Prospective bettors beware. The San Diego Superior Court has won state and national awards within the past two years for reducing court delays.

In Los Angeles County, Presiding Judge Robert Mallano said judges who work in the county’s 50 civil courts “do not even want to remember the old system.

“The choices are so easy to make,” Mallano said. “Do you want a system where it took five years for a case to be brought to trial, where witnesses can’t remember scenarios, where evidence is lost, and where witnesses have disappeared? Or do you want a system where limited resources are used wisely?

“We need judges, not lawyers, to manage the caseloads,” Mallano said.

Many lawyers say they support the new system, although some have expressed reservations about the changes.

“Fast track keeps things moving,” said Veronica M. Gray, president of the Orange County Women Lawyers Assn. “It weeds out cases that really should be in mediation or arbitration anyway. It’s a more efficient way of conducting businesses at the courthouse.”

Lawrence Eisenberg, president of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Assn., said fast track helps people take on big corporations, who can better afford lengthy proceedings.

“They can no longer delay or stall the process,” Eisenberg said.

Some lawyers grumble privately that fast track is not always fair. They say that judges are under pressure to manage their caseload and that they often refuse to grant continuances and threaten to dismiss cases when attorneys are not ready to proceed, they said.

“Because the judges are overworked, there’s a tendency to threaten to dismiss cases on technical grounds,” Eisenberg said. “We hope we would never get to the point where cases are being dismissed simply to ease the caseload.”

Reinglass, Orange County Bar Assn. president, said the fast-track system is especially demanding on lawyers who practice alone or work in small firms.

“I’ve heard stories where an attorney is scheduled to be in two separate courts at the same time,” Reinglass said. “The judges get angry and don’t want to grant a continuance and the lawyers are stressed. They’re like, ‘Split me in half.’ ”

Mallano, the Los Angeles presiding judge, said he has told his judges that “we have to give people fair trials. If we have to give fast trials that are not fair, then that’s no good,” he said.

Similarly, Smallwood said he has told Orange County judges to be understanding of some lawyers’ demanding schedules.

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“We know that we’re not in the numbers business,” Smallwood said. “Getting a just result is more important than (moving the cases quickly through court). We’re not assigning grades for their performances.”

Smallwood said Orange County judges and lawyers meet regularly to discuss ways to improve the system.

Alexander Aikman, a senior fellow at the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va., which helped draft the Trial Court Delay Reduction Act, said he was pleased but not surprised at the reduced backlog.

“I challenge any lawyer in California to say that delaying a trial is a better system than one that guarantees a hearing in 18 months,” Aikman said. “Fast track is making more justice available to more people.”

Andrew Guilford, a Newport Beach attorney who lobbied for the new system, said the fast-track program has made an important contribution to the courts. “It has focused our attention on the need to institute changes in the legal system,” Guilford said. “The system is broken and we need to continue to look at efforts to fix it.”

Just ask Grammer, who said he couldn’t afford to wait any longer for justice.

Grammer was a cable splicer with Voltelcon in Tustin when he climbed down a manhole in Costa Mesa to read a meter. Grammer’s attorney, C. Brent Scott, said during the trial that a co-worker used a device that detects explosive gas, but that it malfunctioned. Grammer used a disposable lighter to read the meter, setting himself on fire.

Since the accident, Grammer, the family’s sole breadwinner, has not been able to work.

Cutting Court Time Orange County Superior Court officials say a delay reduction program has achieved significant success in reducing the civil caseload. More than half of those filed are settled within one year. Age of cases filed January, 1991, to August, 1993, at resolution: Time in % cases system resolved 6 months or less 28 6 months-1 year 56 1 year-18 months 78 18 months-2 years 90 2 years-30 months 98 Jury Trials are Up The number of civil juries sworn has more than doubled during the past four fiscal years: Juries sworn 1989-90 208 1990-91 335 1991-92 502 1992-93 546 Trial Lengths Decreasing The time spent on civil trials has, however, grown shorter during the past three calendar years. Average length in days: 1990 8.5 1991 6.4 1992 5.6 Source: Orange County Superior Court