CHATSWORTH COURT MAY BE FREE OF FELONY CASES.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

After years of promises that only misdemeanor cases would be heard at the controversial $96 million Chatsworth Courthouse, it may have taken the state's budget crisis to get Chatsworth residents what they want: Felony trials transferred to another courthouse.

Officials said Friday that they might discontinue felony cases at the 9- month-old courthouse so its lockup can be closed, saving $1 million for the cash-strapped court system. The criminal caseload now being heard in three courtrooms in Chatsworth would shift to the San Fernando Courthouse, which would send an equivalent workload of civil cases to Chatsworth.

``We couldn't be more pleased,'' Chatsworth resident Stephanie Streb said Friday. ``We didn't want the courthouse. We still consider it a negative for the entire neighborhood, but there is not much you can do about it.''

Other residents agree.

``It sounds like a pretty good idea to me,'' said Chatsworth resident Harry Wm. Godley, who fought for 12 years to keep the courthouse out of the neighborhood. ``But if we have a tremendous amount of civil cases, it's going to create a traffic situation that will be pretty onerous.''

The Chatsworth Courthouse, originally planned in the 1980s, was delayed by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, construction disputes and neighborhood opposition.

The 300,000-square-foot granite-and-glass monolith finally opened last summer at Winnetka Avenue and Plummer Street. And despite earlier pledges that the Chatsworth Courthouse would be limited to misdemeanor, traffic, civil and small-claims proceedings, felony cases were being heard in three of the 10 courtrooms.

Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said officials hope the plans will not arouse concern in the community surrounding the courthouse.

``The sole objective is to eliminate some unnecessary security costs of operating the lockup,'' Parachini said. ``We are committed to the Chatsworth Courthouse, will continue to operate it and believe it's one of our best facilities.''

Jean Huston, justice deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, said the supervisor is glad the court is considering closing the lockup.

``We are glad to see the court is moving in the direction of transferring criminal cases out of Chatsworth,'' Huston said. ``There will still be some cite-and-release misdemeanors there, but there is not anything somebody will be in lockup for.''

Since last year, the court has cut its budget from $604 million to $550 million, laid off 250 employees, closed 29 courtrooms and drastically reduced its budget for service and supplies, Parachini said.

As part of further cuts to save an additional $2 million, Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert A. Dukes said the court is considering closing the Monrovia, Culver City and Redondo Beach courthouses.

``It's clear that significant budget challenges remain for the court and virtually every other institution of government that receives state funding,'' Dukes said. ``It would be irresponsible for the court to fail to examine closely the role of these four facilities in our continuing operations.''

When the court announced a series of budget cuts that went into effect last fall, Dukes said it was clear that several more of the county's 59 courthouses might best serve the interests of the people who use the courts if those courts' caseloads were consolidated elsewhere and the courts converted to other uses.

``It's our intention by conducting this review thoroughly to have as little impact as possible on our customer service,'' Dukes said. ``In fact, we may identify ways to enhance - not reduce - that service as this review continues.''

At the Monrovia Courthouse, the lock-up facility and two of the three courtrooms were placed on inactive status Nov. 1, and criminal cases were transferred to the Alhambra Courthouse, resulting in annual savings of $285,000.

Currently, one courtroom is operating in Monrovia and officials are considering closing the courthouse, utilizing one or more courtrooms on a part-time basis and conversion of the facility to use as a customer-service center to handle walk-in filings, traffic ticket payments and other noncourtroom matters. A decision on the future of the court is expected between April 1 and Sept. 1.

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