L.A. COUNTY TO UNIFY TRIAL COURTS MUNICIPAL JUDGES TO GAIN MORE AUTHORITY.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

Under a new state law, Municipal Court judges in Los Angeles County will be sworn in Saturday as Superior Court judges.

Los Angeles, which has the largest county court system in the state, is the 55th county to unify its trial courts, according to Chief Justice Ronald M. George, chairman of the judicial council, which is the policy- making body for state courts.

``The historic vote in Los Angeles County represents an important milestone in California court administration,'' George said.

As long as the Judicial Council of California finds no discrepancies in the Jan. 14 vote, a total of 191 judges from 24 Municipal Court systems will preside as Superior Court judges when they return to their benches Monday, said court spokeswoman Jerrianne Hayslett.

The unification brings the number of L.A. Superior Court judges to 429 and the total number of bench officers, including commissioners, to 564, Hayslett said.

Until a year ago, when they began handling some of the Superior Court's caseloads, Municipal Court judges in Los Angeles County were not allowed to hear felony cases. The judges heard misdemeanor matters and civil cases, with litigation not exceeding $25,000.

This tended to crowd court calendars, overburden judges and ultimately make the public wait longer, Hayslett said. There also were inconsistencies in rules and regulations.

``A uniform, countywide court will cut down on the confusion and just generally be more efficient to the members of the public,'' she said.

It may take awhile to see the positive changes, though, said Glendale Municipal Court Judge James Simpson.

Simpson, who will raise his hand alongside more than 170 other judges at Saturday's ceremony at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel, has supported the unified system since before Proposition 220 made it possible.

Voters approved the constitutional amendment in June 1998. It permits each county to unify court operations if the majorities of Municipal and Superior Courts vote to do so.

``I don't think we'll see any immediate change. But as time goes by, this will enable the Superior Court to be more flexible, have more resources, work together better and eliminate a lot of duplication of efforts,'' Simpson said.

With the unification comes an annual $10,000 pay increase, Hayslett said. But Municipal Court judges have been receiving the higher pay for about a year now, when the courts became coordinated so legally Municipal Courts could handle Superior Court cases.

While Deputy District Attorney Lonnie Felker agrees that the uniform court system will mean less bureaucracy, Felker said people have complained to him that the new system pares community input from elections.

For local elections, residents likely know the candidates and what the candidates have accomplished. But with a countywide election, voters aren't going to know the candidates as well.