THIRD COUNTY JUDGE COMING ADDITIONAL JURIST OFFERS FLEXIBILITY, LESS CONGESTION.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer MOJAVE - East Kern County will get a third judge, which officials say will help reduce court congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. and increase the variety of cases handled locally. Bakersfield prosecutor Catherin D. Purcell will join two other judges and a commissioner who travel among the Mojave, Ridgecrest and Lake Isabella Lake Isabella is a man-made earthen reservoir in Kern County, California that consists of a main and auxiliary dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two forks at Whiskey Flat. courthouses. ``It's going to alleviate a lot of (court) congestion,'' Cheryl Chicky, deputy executive officer for the Kern County Superior Court's East Division, said of Purcell's appointment. The additional judge will let the East Kern courts handle civil lawsuits over $25,000, make possible family law hearings in Mojave and reduce the need for judges to interrupt jury trials to handle other cases, Chicky said. Court officials do not know when Purcell will start work. She was appointed to the newly created judgeship by Gov. Gray Davis. She will make $133,051 a year. A former law clerk law clerk n. A person, typically an attorney, employed as an assistant to a judge or another attorney, especially in order to gain legal experience. for California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas and a registered nurse as well as an attorney, Purcell spent from 1989 to 1991 and from 1993 to this year as a Kern County deputy district attorney. For the past six years, Purcell has focused on homicide, child abuse and sexual assault prosecutions. One of her 14 murder cases was the prosecution of Francisco Alvarez in the slayings of two young boys. Alvarez was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in June Death In June is the musical brainchild of English folk musician Douglas Pearce, better known as Douglas P. Death In June was originally formed in Britain in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1985 to work on other projects, the group became the work of 2000. Purcell serves on the Kern County Child Death Review Team and frequently lectures on domestic violence, child abuse and medical-legal issues. Before joining the District Attorney's Office, Purcell handled business litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. as an associate with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and with Terry Giles. She served as a law clerk for Lucas in 1986. She has been a registered nurse since 1978. Purcell earned a bachelor of science Noun 1. Bachelor of Science - a bachelor's degree in science BS, SB bachelor's degree, baccalaureate - an academic degree conferred on someone who has successfully completed undergraduate studies degree from California Lutheran College and a juris doctorate degree, magna cum laude cum lau·de adv. & adj. With honor. Used to express academic distinction: graduated cum laude; 25 cum laude graduates. , from Pepperdine Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review. |
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