Judge Storch Assigned to Civil Bench : Courts: Bradbury had blocked him from hearing criminal cases. Reshuffling is characterized as most efficient use of resources.

The Superior Court judge whom Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury blocked from hearing criminal cases four months ago has been reassigned to civil duties in a shuffling of judicial posts announced Wednesday.

Beginning Tuesday, Judge Lawrence Storch will oversee the progress of civil suits and preside over settlement conferences. Storch will replace Superior Court Judge Richard D. Aldrich, who last week was appointed to the state appellate court and is expected to be sworn in Monday following a confirmation hearing.

Superior Court Presiding Judge Melinda A. Johnson said Storch’s transfer had nothing to do with Bradbury’s decision in April to effectively ban Storch from hearing criminal matters. The district attorney ordered his prosecutors to sign sworn statements that Storch is biased weeks after the judge reduced a verdict from first- to second-degree murder.

“This is not being done because we need to put Larry Storch somewhere,” she said. “Larry Storch is a terrific, fabulous civil case settler. He’s the best person I have to go down there.

“He’s been in criminal a long time. He was interested in coming out long before the D.A. started this,” Johnson said.

In addition to Storch’s reassignment and Aldrich’s departure, Superior Court Judge Joe D. Hadden will fill Storch’s slot on the criminal bench. Johnson will temporarily take over family law cases, which Hadden now handles.

Johnson said she will fill in for Hadden until Gov. Pete Wilson appoints a new jurist or makes an early appointment of Colleen Toy White, who was elected to the Superior Court in June but is scheduled to begin her term in January. All the changes are effective Tuesday.

Storch’s transfer follows an aggressive response by court officials to Bradbury’s order that prosecutors ban Storch from criminal cases.

Weeks ago, judges began assigning all new felony cases to Storch, forcing deputy prosecutors to use up their one chance to disqualify a judge without having to prove bias.

Neither Bradbury nor his top aides were available for comment Wednesday. Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman said he did not believe Storch’s transfer was tied to Bradbury’s tactics.

“It doesn’t seem to me that the court would switch in midstream unless it had to do with making it a more efficient court. I think they really indicated they were standing up to the D.A.,” he said.

“What has happened is a series of events where they were caught shorthanded and they wanted to get the best possible use of their personnel,” he said.

Other defense attorneys viewed the changes as necessary for the court to run smoothly.

“It would be silly to keep Judge Storch in a courtroom with no cases coming to him,” said Ventura attorney George Eskin. “From the utilization of personnel, it was imperative that Judge Johnson find another spot for him and this is an ideal opportunity.”

He added that Storch’s new position would “insulate him from the indignity of the district attorney’s behavior.”