Vacancies in court posts bury judges.

An unprecedented number of unfilled U.S. District Court judge vacancies in Los Angeles is inundating the remaining 21 judges here, causing severe case backlogs, trial delays and burnout.

Acting Chief Judge Alicemarie Stotler said she and her fellow Central District of California judges have been handling caseloads that are 40 percent higher than they were in 1998. In particular, the mounting number of complex civil litigation cases, which tend to be more time-consuming than criminal cases, are overwhelming federal judges.

U.S. District Court judges in Los Angeles are each hearing nearly 700 civil cases per year, more than double the 300-case civil workload in 1980. Each judge is handling 20 to 30 motions per week, instead of the typical 12 to 15.

To keep from being buried, L.A. judges are working longer days and weekends. But it's taking a toll.

"Some are ready to commit suicide because they're working so hard," said Gordon Greenberg, a white-collar criminal defense attorney at McDermott Will & Emery in Century City. "For a number of judges, it's overwhelmingly exhausting. I would say they're trying their best to try to cope with a tough situation."

But the stress is becoming increasingly apparent, as tensions rise in federal courtrooms around town.

"If people think I'm testy on the bench, they should hear me in chambers," said U.S. District Judge Nora Manella.

Such testiness may be understandable considering that Manella describes her free time as being just enough to brush her teeth and catch a news update on Afghanistan.

"In the last three years, I've probably taken four Sundays off," she said. "Sunday is a regular workday. On a good day, I leave (my office) at 7 p.m. On a bad day, at 9 p.m."

The number of federal judges assigned to each district is determined by the area's caseload. Several current and former federal judges, along with powerful local attorneys, have been lobbying Congress, arguing that even if all 27 District Court judgeships were filled, it wouldn't be enough to handle the area's caseload.

Legislation has been introduced in the Senate to create more federal judicial posts in California, but all those would go to San Diego, where immigration-related caseloads are swelling.

The situation in Los Angeles, meanwhile, is raising concerns about the quality of justice being meted out in the Central District, which covers the massive seven-county region from San Luis Obispo to Orange County.

Human limitations

"I think judges, like anyone, have limits on their abilities to focus and concentrate," said Ron Reynolds, litigation partner at Kaye Scholer LLP in Los Angeles. "And while I can't say this has occurred in many cases, it would seem natural to me that if a judge has more cases than he or she can handle, all the cases are not going to get the same kind of attention."

It also means many attorneys are thinking twice about filing motions in their cases.

"You need to think carefully of the motions you bring, the length of papers you file and ask yourself, 'Is this something where I really need to ask the court to get involved, or can I work this out with opposing counsel and narrow it down?'" said John Spiegel, a partner at Munger Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles.

Especially hurt in the backlog are complex civil cases that routinely involve multiple motions and lengthy trials.

Such cases also are vulnerable because they get a lower priority than criminal cases, which under federal law must be completed within a shorter period of time.

"I have noticed ... when you ask for a hearing date or try to get an appointment for a conference with a judge, it does seem they have to schedule them further out than they used to," said Mike Diamond, litigation partner at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy in L.A.

District court judge candidates typically are nominated by a state's senior U.S. senator from the party of the President. But since both of California's U.S. senators are Democrats, a Bipartisan Judicial Advisory Committee was formed earlier this year to nominate candidates. The committee is made up of four subcommittees -- one for each of the state's federal judicial districts. The Central District's subcommittee is headed by Elwood Lui, a partner at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue and former state appellate judge. Gerald Parsky, chairman of Aurora Capital Partners in West Los Angeles, heads the statewide committee. Parsky is being assisted by Eric George, a partner at the Beverly Hills law firm Browne & Woods. George and Parsky declined to comment.

But Holly Fujie, a partner at Buchalter Nemer Fields & Younger PLC and member of the Central District's subcommittee, said they have received a number of applications and have made recommendations to Parsky.

"It was literally as fast as we could do a good job," she said.

Stotler remains optimistic that hearings before the U.S. Senate could begin within three to four months.

Federal judge appointments are not the only ones being delayed. Selections of U.S. Attorneys, including in Los Angeles, are also way behind schedule. The L.A. district's U.S. Attorney during the Clinton Administration, Alejandro Mayorkas, left office last April. Parsky recently submitted names of candidates to be the permanent replacement to Mayorkas, but no selection has been made.