2008 Annual Report - Superior Court of California - County of Los ...

Legislative Staff Seminar
For the past several years, the Court has invited staff from the Los Angeles County offices of
each member of the State Assembly, State Senate and
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for a halfday
outreach program.
During the seminar, administrators provide an
overview of court operations. Areas covered include:
traffic, probate, juvenile, criminal, civil, small claims
and family law proceedings. Jury, self-help and
interpreter services also are discussed.
Attendees are encouraged to ask questions, and each
participant leaves with a binder full of valuable
information, including spreadsheets, statistics, articles
and maps, plus telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses for future questions and comments.
Trials Covered, Gavel to Gavel,
on Television
When the murder trial of O.J. Simpson ended in
1995, many of our judges expressed concern that live television cameras capturing courtroom
events as they unfold during a trial distorted the process. For a decade after the Simpson trial,
no judge on our Court allowed camera coverage of an entire criminal trial.
That era ended last year, when three judges permitted network television crews into their
courtrooms to shoot video of entire trials. One of them was
the murder trial of record producer Phil Spector, which was
carried live by Court TV and numerous Internet outlets. The
other cases were in San Fernando and Pasadena.
Meanwhile, at the Central Civil West Courthouse last year,
two trials involving the pain medicine Vioxx and litigation
involving a pesticide manufacturer and a food producer were
televised on the Courtroom View Network, which caters to
an audience of primarily attorneys. The Internet-based
concept may represent one of the future directions of
broadcast justice.
Assistance to Other Superior Courts
In Riverside County, the court system had become overwhelmed by many years of exponential
growth as the exploding population of Southern California grew into the Inland Empire. By last
year, the Riverside County Superior Court was struggling to keep up with its caseload.
The chief justice of California named a former supervising judge of our criminal courts to
a task force of 27 judges to identify ways the Riverside County Superior Court could resolve
its difficulties.
The team began its work on Aug. 13, 2007. Riverside has 56 judges — a number that is
expected to grow by 14 under legislation enacted two years ago.
Los Angeles Superior Court Annual Report 7