ADDITIONAL JUDICIAL OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO A.V. COURTS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Two more judicial officers have been assigned to the Antelope Valley, bringing to five the number of new officers who will work in the Palmdale and Lancaster courts following the layoffs of four local judicial officers.

Superior Court Judge Rafael Ongkeko, appointed this month by Gov. Gray Davis, and Commissioner John Murphy, currently assigned to San Fernando Superior Court, will both begin work in Lancaster on Friday, court officials said.

``I am extremely pleased that the needs of the north judicial district are being met by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. I'm saddened by the loss of several dedicated judicial officers, who had done a very good job, but I am pleased to see that we have five new judicial officers coming to replace them, including Judge Pamela Rogers. Her court will be staffed full time,'' said Lancaster Superior Court Supervising Judge Steve Ogden.

Layoff notices that take effect Friday were sent to referees Ross Amspoker and Ron Taylor in Palmdale Superior Court and David Bianchi and Robin Kesler in Lancaster Superior Court as part of a cost-cutting move by the court.

Rogers has been out for more than a year following neck surgery and has applied for disability retirement.

Ongkeko and Murphy will join the three other judicial officers whose assignments to the Antelope Valley were announced earlier. They are Commissioner Victor Reichman, who worked in Lancaster for 17 years before a transfer in 1992, Judge Mark Juhas and Judge Alan Rosenfield.

Ongkeko will be assigned to Division 3 in Lancaster, staffing the courtroom that was previously presided over by Rogers.

Juhas will handle family law in Palmdale; Murphy will oversee traffic matters in Lancaster; Reichman will oversee small-claims and probate cases in Palmdale; and Rosenfield will handle misdemeanor cases in Lancaster.

Ongkeko, 49, of South Pasadena was a principal deputy county counsel in the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office, where he has spent most of his career.

He first joined the County Counsel's Office in 1979. In his first two years with the office, he represented the Public Administrator/Guardian in contested probate cases. He spent the next 17 years handling civil litigation on behalf of the county.

In 1998, Ongkeko left the office for private practice and joined the insurance defense firm of Cairns, Doyle, Lanz & Nicholas. In 1999, he co- founded his own civil-litigation firm, Ongkeko, Doyle & Nicholas, and in 2001, he moved his practice to the firm of Collins, Collins, Muir & Traver.

In private practice, he primarily handled business, employment and personal-injury cases. Earlier this year, he returned to the County Counsel's Office, where he has since been assigned to the Sheriff's Department legal advisory unit.

Ongkeko has served as a volunteer arbitrator for the Superior Court. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Pasadena Bar Association, and Philippine American Bar Association.

Ongkeko earned a bachelor of science degree with highest honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a law degree from Boalt Hall. He will receive a salary of $139,476.