4 Courtrooms Closed in Wake of Aftershock

Already faced with a courtroom shortage, officials in Van Nuys Superior Court suffered another hit Wednesday when an entire floor was closed for as long as a month.

As a result of Sunday’s 5.3-magnitude aftershock, four courtrooms on the seventh floor of the Superior Court building were declared off-limits due to possible asbestos contamination.

When asbestos monitors found there was no danger, engineers stepped in Wednesday and said the closure will continue because of fear that giant marble slabs hanging on walls in public corridors may fall to the floor.

Marble specialists will be brought in Friday to determine how best to remove the wall panels without damaging them. The floor could be closed for up to one month.

Court officials in Van Nuys have managed to find space for nine San Fernando Superior Court judges forced to move from their courtrooms when the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake caused severe damage to the 10-year-old courthouse.

In order to accommodate the San Fernando judges, temporary courtrooms in trailers that had been mothballed more than two years were pressed into service.

Court administrators have scrambled all week to find space for the four judges with courtrooms on the affected floor. Judge John Fisher was forced Wednesday to conduct business in the Municipal Court building next door.

Judge Meredith C. Taylor is planning to begin working today in her chambers on the seventh floor before hearing some matters in a courtroom she will share on the third floor, officials said. Taylor will then continue taking testimony in a death penalty murder trial in another courtroom on the fourth floor, according to administrators.

“We’ll handle it on a piecemeal basis,” said Judge Robert M. Letteau, who manages Van Nuys Superior Court.

“We’ll need to be patient for a couple of days,” said Judge Judith M. Ashmann, who oversees San Fernando’s operations.

Meanwhile, Ashmann said Wednesday the San Fernando courthouse will cost $15 million and take a year to repair.