Full-Court Pressure
Many jurists have had longer careers on the bench than Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Gilbert Lopez, but few can say they actually built their bench.
Not to mention the courtroom seating, podium and bailiff’s station.
Lopez works at the Huntington Park courthouse, a 47-year-old Spanish Colonial Revival building ranked among the five most run-down court facilities in the state. Frustrated by his tiny courtroom’s inadequate furnishings, Lopez built his bench out of birch.
Lopez is proud of his service in court. But he is a bit concerned about his legacy. “It seems someday I may be better known for being a furniture maker,” he said.
The second-floor courtroom exemplifies the building’s physical deterioration. But aging is only part of the problem. The courthouse, which serves much of southeast Los Angeles County, is alarmingly overcrowded: Everyone who needs to be there simply can’t fit inside.
On many mornings just after the concrete-block building opens at 8 a.m., bailiffs must halt the crush of people entering because the courthouse has reached its fire code capacity. Those there to pay fines must then wait for hours just to file through the single metal detector.
Inside, lines of surprisingly patient people often block two courtroom entrances. On the second floor, beyond the staircase crowded with jurors slouched on marble steps, spillover crowds from tiny courtrooms clog the narrow hallways.
“That courthouse is one of the most crowded I’ve ever seen,” said Robert Lloyd, a facilities manager for the state’s administrative office of the courts. “I’ve never seen as many people queued up in line. There is basically no public space at all.”
A state task force headed by Lloyd visited all 451 of the state’s courthouses and found that many need new roofs and ventilation work. The price tag, according to the group’s recent report, is $3 billion.
Due primarily to its physical condition, the Huntington Park facility was cited as one of the five most deficient in the state.
At first glance, the two-story building doesn’t appear to merit its ignoble ranking. Fronting the Civic Center courtyard on Miles Street, the courthouse charms visitors with its arched colonnade and red tile roof.
But the onslaught of justice-seekers has taken its toll.
Opened in 1954, when the population of Huntington Park and surrounding cities was a fraction of current figures, the facility serves an area of 500,000 people. Misdemeanor filings constitute the bulk of cases, but felony hearings and civil trials also take place in the building’s five courtrooms.
Officials have made several clumsy modifications over the years. One jury assembly room was converted into an L-shaped courtroom where jurors must crane their necks to view witnesses. Across the hall, a bathroom was made into a judge’s chambers.
By the mid-1990s, the roof was leaky, rat and cockroach infestation was common, and defendants were still led through the same hallways as their victims and attorneys.
Although the building has seen some improvements since then, officials say it remains woefully out of date.
A chief complaint of Supervising Judge Daniel P. Ramirez and other officials is the inadequate security.
The three criminal courts cannot hold felony trials because the building lacks a secure area for dropping off defendants. Sheriff’s deputies must do their offloading in the same parking lot used by judges and attorneys. Once detainees are inside, the holding cells are often full, so some are held in tiny areas usually meant for them to make phone calls.
A quick walk around the courthouse can startle the senses. Poor ventilation sends some room temperatures skyrocketing and the heat can be stifling. A basement storage room reeks of urine from transients who often sleep outside the door.
“It looks like a dungeon almost, if you will,” said Ramirez, remarking on a chipped concrete basement floor that hasn’t been repaired in years.
Lack of space is such a serious problem that almost any open area is used for supply storage. The court’s only jury deliberation room doubles as storage space for boxes and chairs. So does the judges’ law library.
Ramirez said plans are in the works to add a courtroom and jury assembly area. But he calls that a temporary fix, and is hoping for passage of legislation that would pay for a new courthouse.
Commissioner Lopez grew frustrated with the poor conditions shortly after taking the bench in 1996. Toiling nights and weekends, he built two benches for witnesses, one of them with a lift-up seat for storage. He constructed a podium and a bailiff’s station topped with a plexiglass window. And he expanded his bench to twice its original size.
Lopez also built much of the furniture for his own chambers, a former bathroom that is so small the desk was built at 90% scale. The improvements cost $3,000, not to mention Lopez’s three months of free labor.
“Unfortunately, [building the furniture] came out of necessity. It had to be done,” said Lopez, who hears traffic violation and eviction cases. “We have to make do with what we’ve got.”
And that isn’t much, when it comes to public space. Due to the long lines blocking fire exit routes, sheriff’s deputies constantly monitor the number of people in the building. As a result, some have to wait as long as three hours to enter.
Luis Segura, a day laborer from East Los Angeles, stood in line two hours to pay a $133 traffic fine, and worried about his car outside in a two-hour zone.
“I’m going to pay this ticket,” he said. “And then I’ll probably have another one on my car.”
