Same officials will set up shop near LAX
SM COURTHOUSE — Starting in June, there will be no criminal courtroom in Santa Monica.
More than 20 top judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and police officers met behind closed doors this week to finalize plans for the transfer of all local criminal cases to the Airport Courthouse near LAX.
The impending loss of the “community courthouse” is expected to save the county at least $500,000, but may prove costly for the city of Santa Monica. Local officials criticized the plan last week, when it was first unveiled.
Residents answering to misdemeanor charges such as jaywalking, panhandling, even camping in public, will now be forced to make the 25-mile round-trip to LAX. The same goes for witnesses, prosecutors, public defenders and local police officers. Even more distressing to area officials, the cost of transporting prisoners will be shouldered by City Hall.
Still, the plan is not as drastic — or immediate — as originally feared.
Contrary to the original plan, a “dedicated courtroom” will now be established at the Airport Courthouse to hear solely Santa Monica cases. In addition, the same prosecutors, public defenders and staffers will remain together through the move, expected to be complete on June 7. The changes helped to convince Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Alan Haber, who has overseen local criminal cases for nearly a decade, to move along with the court.
“It looks like I’ll probably go with the ship so that it doesn’t sink, as long as I can keep the same staff over the transition,” Judge Kamins said. “I think my leadership might be important to all the different elements. I could go to Malibu, where I live, or Beverly Hills, but I’m the only criminal court judge here and I understand all the problems of the city of Santa Monica — and all the issues that are important to them.”
“It looks like I’ll probably go with the ship so that it doesn’t sink.” — — BERNARD KAMINS SM Superior Court Judge
City Attorney Marsha Moutrie said the dedicated courtroom was a vital part of the plan.
“That idea — that there’ll be only one judge (who handles local cases) — was very important to this office and to the public defender’s office, but more importantly, to the community,” Moutrie said.
Rudolph Rousseau, head deputy public defender for Los Angeles County, is concerned about Santa Monica’s large homeless population. The question is not only how his clients will get to the courthouse, but also how released homeless prisoners will manage to return home.
“It’s certainly a concern that’s been voiced by all parties — the judges, the police, the city attorneys, us,” Rousseau said this week. “Everybody knows that that population is certainly unique and, in some cases, will be confused. They’re not the most sophisticated clientele, and it will be somewhat disorienting to be released in an area of the city they know absolutely nothing about...
“However, we recognize that what the court is doing is out of necessity. So what we’re focusing our energy on is making sure it works, with as little confusion and difficulty as possible.”
Despite a few loose ends, Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz, the presiding judge at the local courthouse for just over two months, said all of the disparate parties involved have been professional and considerate. The transportation of prisoners is one detail that has yet to be hammered out.
Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Frank Fabrega said it’s unclear how much it will cost local police to transport prisoners, but said there are many considerations involved — including buying a bus to transport prisoners, hiring a driver, or possibly contracting out the entire job. By way of example, Fabrega said a prisoner bus recently purchased by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department cost $300,000.
Judge Lefkowitz said it’s possible the Sheriff’s department — the same group that does the work now — could actually end up doing the work again, as they operate a countywide prisoner transport system.
Details associated with the move are expected to be ironed out in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Judge Kamins, who claims he hears between 80 and 180 cases a day, will continue to hear most criminal cases in Department S in the old local courthouse.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 5, 2004. Read the original PDF.