COURT SECURITY, GROWTH MAY FORCE CRIMINAL CASES TO SAN FERNANDO.Byline: CAROL ROCK Staff Writer VALENCIA -- A mounting caseload case·load n. The number of cases handled in a given period, as by an attorney or by a clinic or social services agency. caseload Noun , coupled with concerns about security in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Superior Court, are forcing officials to consider shifting criminal cases to North Valley Superior Court in San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. . The move would affect thousands of victims and witnesses who now enjoy the convenience of the small Valencia court house. But Kenneth Martone, deputy executive officer of district operations for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court, said Santa Clarita can't handle the growth. ``The court is aware that caseload growth in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. has outgrown the ability of the Santa Clarita courthouse to serve the public,'' Martone said. ``One solution is to shift all criminal cases, but that's just one that we've been discussing.'' One lead prosecutor prosecutor Government attorney who presents the state's case against the defendant in a criminal prosecution. In some countries (France, Japan), public prosecution is carried out by a single office. In the U.S., states and counties have their own prosecutors. said the plan might include moving operations of one of the four local courtrooms and its accompanying staff to San Fernando. ``We're being told that one court and its staff will be moving to San Fernando,'' said Michael Grosbard, head deputy district attorney for the region. That shift would crowd the District Attorney's Office in San Fernando. ``It will definitely cause issues with staffing and space as well as increase the overall workload,'' Grosbard said. There were 823 felonies filed last year in Santa Clarita. Combined with civil filings, the caseload has increased 44.7 percent in the past five years. ``In 2001, we had 59,323 filings, both criminal and civil,'' Martone said. ``In 2005, that number went up to 85,865.'' Along with the growing number of filings, the layout of the Santa Clarita court complex also is a concern. One courtroom is in the adjacent Valencia public library building, separate from the other three. The lockup See hang and abend. is in the main court building, which means high-security defendants must trek across an outdoor corridor. And while officials recognize problems, no firm plans have been made, Martone said. ``The workload has simply outgrown the courthouse. But no decisions have been made at this time. We're far from the stage of imminent decisions; I anticipate this discussion and research to go on for several months.'' carol.rock(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5252 |
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