VALLEY COURTROOM SQUEEZE SPACE FOR FAMILY LAW REDUCED AS CRIMINAL CASES INCREASE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Attorneys are criticizing the loss of one of Antelope Valley Courthouse's two family law courtrooms as court officials try to accommodate an increasing number of criminal cases.

The local family law system is already overburdened with two courtrooms, the attorneys said, and assigning one family law courtroom to hear criminal cases will mean inordinate delays and require clients to travel to San Fernando Valley or other Los Angeles courts.

``If with two judges we are already going under, you take away one judge and tie a lead weight around the other, we are going to sink,'' family law attorney Richard Curtin said. ``What this means for people in the Antelope Valley, their cases will take at least twice as long, and they already take far too long to get heard, and cases will cost twice as much. They will go to court, sit around and wait and get continued to another day.''

``It's horrible. We have 500,000-plus in the valley. We have the most congested courts in all, I believe, of L.A. County. Taking away one court incredibly handicaps the community from having their family law matters heard,'' said William Koch, family law attorney and president of the Antelope Valley Bar Association.

The one family law courtroom will start hearing criminal matters starting May 2, court officials said.

``In order to ease the load on the criminal calendar, we have to open up another criminal courtroom,'' court administrator Howard Millings said. ``That's not going to result necessarily in a reduction in family law cases that we are handling up here. We are still going to have one family law courtroom open here.''

Judge Mark Juhas will continue presiding over family law matters. Commissioner Robert McSorley will move from family law to hearing traffic cases. Commissioner John Murphy will move from traffic court to the newly created criminal court, Millings said.

Family law cases include divorces, paternity cases, domestic violence restraining orders and civil harassment cases. The latter two types of cases will be handled by other judicial officers to ease Juhas' caseload, Millings said.

``We are going to make every effort to keep all the cases here. Anything Judge Juhas can't handle will be handled up here to the best of our ability,'' Millings said.

Although the $109 million Antelope Valley Courthouse that opened in 2003 has one vacant courtroom, Los Angeles Superior Court officials say there is a shortage of judges. The four-story courthouse also has room to add six more courtrooms, beyond the present 15.

``Judicial vacancies exist in every one of Los Angeles Superior Court's 12 districts, and the near-term situation may worsen as judges retire,'' Presiding Judge William A. MacLaughlin said in an e-mail response to the Daily News.

``Although the LASC is allowed 429 judges, it hasn't enjoyed a full allocation for years. We welcome the governor's recent judicial appointments, but our court is still short 15 judges,'' MacLaughlin said. ``(Antelope Valley Presiding) Judge (Thomas) White's decision to adjust courtroom operations is a continuing effort to serve Antelope Valley's residents as efficiently as possible.''

According to the Antelope Valley District Attorney's Office, felony cases increased 26 percent and misdemeanor cases 23 percent from 2003 to 2004.

There were felony filings against 3,004 defendants in 2004 and misdemeanor filings against 13,893 people, records show.

The office prosecuted 60 felony jury trials in 2004, compared with 54 in 2003. Of the 60 trials, 23 were sent out to courts outside the Antelope Valley because of court congestion.

Local family law attorneys maintain that Antelope Valley's family law caseload is larger than other courts in the county.

Curtin said he and other attorneys make court appearances outside of the Antelope Valley, and typically Antelope Valley's family law court calendars that are posted on the doors are twice as long as the other courts'.

``It's 20 matters in other courts. Twenty is a light day up here,'' Curtin said.

Superior Court records, however, show that in 2004, there were 2,500 family law cases filed in Lancaster, versus 3,513 in Van Nuys Superior Court and 2,709 in San Fernando Superior Court.

The Van Nuys court has three family law judicial officers, and San Fernando has two, records show.

Curtin fears that with only one family law court, the judge might start deciding cases based on written declarations alone and not spend time hearing witness testimony, cross-examination or additional evidence.

``How incredibly terrible if one side lies good on paper,'' Curtin said.

Curtin predicts more cases be will be transferred to other courthouses and that attorneys will consider settling cases, telling clients, ``You can take this deal or wait a year and a half for trial.''

``It will be fast-food justice rather than a full sit-down meal,'' Curtin said.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com