2 Courthouses to Open, Expand Services in Area

The building boom in area courts will begin to pay off this year, with the opening of a courthouse in the Antelope Valley and another in the western San Fernando Valley.

In 2001, residents can also expect more community outreach and better service from the Los Angeles County Superior Court, a behemoth that’s now trying to reposition its sprawling branches as small, neighborhood-friendly courts, said James Bascue, the court’s new presiding judge.

New rules established by the Judicial Council, the policymaking arm of the California Supreme Court, mandate that presiding judges such as Bascue “support and encourage the judges to actively engage in community outreach . . . and to obtain appropriate community input regarding the administration of justice.”

There are plans to expand a meet-your-judges forum, now held in three or four areas a year, to all of the county’s 12 Superior Court districts. Bascue has also told the supervising judges of each district to get out of their courthouses more and into the communities they serve.

The idea is to have judges “establish a dialogue” with the public, said Jerrianne Hayslett, spokeswoman for the county’s Superior Court. Courts will also be asking people how they can provide better service.

‘1-Day or 1-Trial’ Jury Service to Expand

A “one-day or one-trial” jury service program will continue its countywide roll-out. Already, 14 courthouses--including Van Nuys and Newhall locally, have converted to the popular program that allows summoned jurors to complete their duty in as little as one day.

Long Beach and San Pedro will convert this month, and the remaining 23 courthouses are expected to follow suit by the end of the year, Hayslett said.

On the heels of the 1999 opening of a courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport, three more buildings are in the works to further expand the county’s court system.

A civil courthouse scheduled to open Feb. 5 in Palmdale is eagerly awaited by Antelope Valley residents. The Spanish hacienda-style building, with four courtrooms and a clerk’s office surrounding a courtyard of plants, is expected to handle civil cases, including small claims, probate and family law.

The opening of the Palmdale Courthouse will mark the first time in more than 10 years that civil cases will be heard in the Antelope Valley, said Frank Jackson, supervising judge for the Lancaster Superior Court who will also oversee the Palmdale Courthouse.

Population Boom Led to New Courthouse

For 40 years, the Antelope Valley has been served by a courthouse in Lancaster, but the region, whose population has more than tripled in the past 20 years, simply outgrew that building, said Frances Burnett, assistant district administrator for Antelope Valley courts. From 1990 to 1994 alone, the Antelope Valley experienced a 40% growth in all case filings, particularly in civil matters.

For the past decade, Antelope Valley residents with civil matters had to drive to San Fernando, Van Nuys or downtown Los Angeles to have their day in court. But that will change when the red-tile-roofed courthouse opens at 38256 Sierra Highway, next to Palmdale City Hall.

The $3.75-million 18,500-square-foot building was designed by Pasadena-based D.S. Ewing Architects Inc. and financed with municipal bonds issued by the city of Palmdale. It will be leased to Los Angeles County at $1 a year.

“We were in trouble, needing space, and they offered space,” Burnett said. “They weren’t looking to make money on it. They wanted to provide a service to Antelope Valley folks.”

The new Palmdale Court will be “wonderful for everyone concerned--plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses,” Jackson said.

In western San Fernando Valley, a new courthouse in Chatsworth, on the corner of Winnetka Avenue and Plummer Street, is slated to open in November. It will handle misdemeanors and civil matters involving disputes over amounts under $25,000.

“In west San Fernando Valley, the idea was to supply something that was lacking,” said Julie Wheeler, principal analyst with Los Angeles County’s chief administrative office. “Geographically, there’s a big space out there, with no access to courts.”

Chatsworth Court Cost $96.8 Million

The contemporary 292,000-square-foot three-story building with a granite exterior was designed by the Pasadena-based architectural firm Mosakowski Lindsey Associates. It will have 10 courtrooms, a lockup for holding inmates and a cafeteria and will take on some of the caseload being handled in Malibu and Van Nuys, said William MacLaughlin, supervising judge for San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Chatsworth courts.

The $96.8-million Chatsworth court, the first to be built in the San Fernando Valley since 1989, is financed through a courthouse construction fund made up of fines and forfeitures. The same fund paid for the new courthouse near LAX and will finance a new courthouse in Lancaster, the construction of which began last year and is expected to be completed in 2 1/2 years.

In Van Nuys, the second-largest district of the county’s Superior Court system, two changes will reflect what Bascue calls a new orientation in how Los Angeles courts conduct business.

On Feb. 20, the civil court in Van Nuys will convert from a master calendar to a direct calendar system, a move judges say should increase court efficiency.

Under the master calendar, civil cases are not assigned to a specific judge until just before trial. Under the direct calendar system, cases will be assigned to a judge immediately after a complaint is filed, and the same judge will shepherd the case through each stage of litigation until it is resolved.

“That way the lawyers get to know the judge, the judge gets to know the lawyers and most important, the judge gets to know the case and promote settlement,” said Paul Gutman, the new supervising judge of Van Nuys.

Community Court Planned in Van Nuys

Also in Van Nuys, a community court for handling petty crimes, such as loitering, public disturbance and vandalism, is expected to open.

The community court would have offenders pay reparation in the form of community service to the neighborhood sullied by their crimes and emphasize rehabilitation.

Integral to the community court will be a neighborhood advisory panel that will meet regularly with the judge to discuss ways in which the court can better serve the community. If successful, the Van Nuys Community Court will serve as a model for others in the county.