BURBANK MULLS TAXI VOUCHERS FOR DEFENDANTS COURT SHUFFLE BRINGS WORRIES.

Believing that Los Angeles Superior Court officials will proceed with plans to consolidate all criminal cases in Burbank and civil cases in Glendale, officials from the two cities are working on compromise plans to mitigate major problems.

Predicting that eight to 10 defendants would be released each week from the Burbank Courthouse directly onto downtown streets, city officials have proposed giving ex-prisoners cab vouchers to get home.

``We are exploring whether we can give them $10 or $20 vouchers to get them where they need to go,'' Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow said Tuesday.

Providing the vouchers is expected to cost Burbank about $5,000 a year. Currently, sheriff's deputies give bus tokens to released defendants who ask.

Carl J. West, supervising judge of the court's North Central District, said Burbank officials are overestimating the effects of the consolidation.

``I think their fears are greater than the reality of the situation,'' he said, noting that he has not heard of any problems stemming from releasing former prisoners from a courthouse directly onto city streets.

The consolidation is necessary, he has argued, because the Burbank Courthouse is much better equipped to handle criminal cases, with a jury assembly room, state-of-the-art lock-up, and ample parking - attributes the older Glendale courthouse lacks.

Meanwhile, Glendale Police Chief Russell Siverling said he might contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to transport prisoners to the Burbank Courthouse.

Glendale now uses a small bus staffed by one police officer to transport prisoners from the city's police station lock-up to the courthouse lock-up across the street for their hearings and trials.

Criminal cases originating in the two cities are currently handled in their respective courthouses, while civil cases are divided randomly between the two.

``To take people on the freeway and longer distances, we would need to hire another officer and buy a larger bus,'' Siverling said.

Because prosecutors now working out of Glendale will be relocated to Burbank under the consolidation plan, Siverling said he is also exploring using video-conferencing for officers to communicate with deputy district attorneys.

However, while the new Glendale police headquarters under construction is equipped with video-conferencing capability, the Burbank Courthouse is not.

Siverling predicts the consolidation would ultimately cost his department several hundred thousand dollars a year because of additional overtime cost resulting from officers having to travel to Burbank to file criminal charges and make court appearances.

``Officers in patrol would have to leave our city and stand by in court,'' said Siverling. ``We lose that visibility and immediate presence of officers. Certainly, if we need them to respond to emergencies, they are 15 minutes away.''

As the third-largest city in the county, Glendale arrests 7,000 to 10,000 people a year and issues 18,000 subpoenas.

While sympathetic to Siverling's concerns, West said he doesn't consider it an ``unreasonable burden'' for Glendale officers to travel to Burbank for criminal cases.

``It is not anything anyone in the county hasn't had to do and had been doing,'' he said.

Currently, Glendale and Burbank officers have to travel to Pasadena to testify in felony cases.

Under the consolidation plan, Burbank lawyers can still file civil cases at the city's courthouse. Local cases, such as traffic violations, unlawful detainers and small claims, will continue to be handled out of their respective cities.

West insists the consolidation plan is not final. Burbank and Glendale officials will meet with court and county officials again Oct. 18.