JURIST MUST REVIEW 600 DUI CASE FILES; REVIEW OF DUI CASES COULD SWAMP COURTS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Hunched over a stack of files, in shirt sleeves and sighing occasionally, Judge Steven Z. Perren looked more like an overworked city clerk than a Superior Court judge.

But he was engrossed Friday in serious legal work, poring through some of the 600 drunk-driving cases he intends to review as a result of his ruling earlier this week on the crime lab case.

By rejecting a defense motion to dismiss those cases because of problems at the lab, Perren upped his workload, and that of the Ventura County courts, substantially.

Perren has estimated it may take him three weeks to leaf through each file and determine each case's immediate fate. Some of the cases may stay closed, while others could get a new trial due to faulty or unlicensed alcohol testing at the lab earlier this year.

Citing his central role in these proceedings, Perren refused to comment on the file-sorting he has undertaken since Tuesday or even say how many cases he has reviewed. However, defense attorneys estimate it is about 30 cases per day.

But the judge on the receiving end of many of these cases is not being tight-lipped. In fact, Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell makes no secret of his concern that the sudden return of these 600 or so cases could overload the court system.

``We are aware this could be a substantial problem,'' Campbell said Friday. ``We only have a certain number of judges and a certain number of courtrooms. I guess it's a question of how do you pour four gallons of water into a one-quart jar.''

While the 600 cases had been joined together for the past four months of hearings, they were split apart and scattered by Perren's ruling on Monday.

About 200 pending drunk-driving cases are being sent to Campbell for assignment to trial in whatever Ventura County courtrooms are available.

Not all of those cases will be assigned at once, he said, but the process will be complicated by the fact that three murder trials, two of them involving the death penalty, are set to begin next week.

Of the other 400 cases, those that have already gone to trial are being sent back to their respective trial judges for possible hearings on new trial motions.

And Perren has taken it upon himself to determine which of the cases that ended with guilty pleas might deserve a new trial based on evidence of the lab's problems.

Deputy Public Defender Steve Lipson said his office may eventually retry more than 150 cases, a process that could last into next spring.

``I think it's going to be a lot of work, but I don't personally think it's going to be the tidal wave of cases that people expect,'' said Lipson, one of the lead defense attorneys in the crime lab case. ``I could be wrong. There's kind of a lot of unanswered questions still.''

The first step, he said, is for both public defenders and private defense attorneys to see which cases Perren deems suitable for new trial and then find out if their clients want to press the fight.

Lipson said he does not know what criteria Perren is using to evaluate these cases, but he suspects that those mostly likely to get a new trial involve questionable lab tests that are at or near the .08 percent legal limit to drive in California.

Cases with test results of more than .20 percent will not likely get a new trial, although the defense is entitled to appeal Perren's rulings.

Among those eagerly anticipating the court's next move is Deputy District Attorney Pete Kossoris.

``It's difficult to say for sure how this is going to unfold,'' he said.