BURBANK : Court Expansion Will Solve Crunch

Space at the county courthouse in Burbank is so tight that prisoners are brought directly past the judge’s chambers and rub shoulders with jurors, and judges are sometimes met outside by defendants in the court parking lot.

The court building has not housed felony proceedings in recent years, and jurors, prosecutors and defense attorneys are scattered in offices throughout downtown Burbank.

But all that will change, city and county officials hope, with a $4.9-million expansion of the court building that began with a recent groundbreaking ceremony in the court parking lot.

“We’re going to be doing things a lot better here,” said Burbank Municipal Judge Marion E. Gubler, just before he and five other dignitaries--including Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich--took up gold-painted shovels to turn over a few mounds of dirt.

The expansion will include two extra courtrooms and a jury assembly room and space for a Sheriff’s Department office, the district attorney’s office, the public defender and the media. Also included will be a state-of-the-art lockup for up to 100 prisoners, Gubler said.

“There won’t be any excuse not to have felony trials here,” said Gubler, who added that it had long been an issue in the community. Burbank felony cases are typically handled in Pasadena or Van Nuys, which is inconvenient for prosecutors, defendants and the police. After the expansion is completed, possibly by September, police will be able to continue their patrol duties while waiting to be called for court appearances.

The city has also started construction on a 300-space parking garage behind the courthouse that will be finished by April.

Gubler said he first started pushing for an expansion of the courthouse about eight years ago and went to the city for support, pointing out that the Municipal Court brings in money.

“It’ll be 100% better,” said Superior Court Judge Thomas Murphy, who retired eight years ago but still handles cases.