Civil trials to resume in Riverside County

The Desert Sun Wire Services

Riverside County's top judge today announced civil trials, which have virtually stopped being conducted in the county due to a backlog of criminal cases, will again be held in Riverside, which could mean good news for pending civil cases nearing dismissal in the Coachella Valley.

Three judges will begin hearing civil trials Jan. 14 at the recently vacated Hawthorne Elementary School at 9174 Indiana Ave., according to Riverside County Superior Court Presiding Judge Richard T. Fields.

The county has the state's largest deficit of judges with 57.

``Despite this challenge, the court is determined to meet its number one goal of providing fair and expeditious access to justice for all residents of the county -- and that includes our civil litigants,'' Fields said today.

It is expected that cases dealing with seniors, minors and those approaching the five-year dismissal mark will be heard first.

The court has begun transforming eight classrooms into three courtrooms, judges' chambers, a conference room, and jury voir dire and deliberation rooms, according to Fields.

Last summer, Chief Justice Ronald George sent a strike team of 27 active and retired judges from around the state to Riverside County in an attempt to reduce the county's staggering criminal backlog which is currently at about 1,192 -- in order to start hearing civil trials again.

The strike team was reduced to six judges Nov. 30.

``It's wonderful news,'' civil attorney Marty Mueller, managing partner of Best, Best and Krieger's Indian Wells office, said today about civil trials resuming in the county. ``I just got a notice that one of my cases which is not even at the five-year dismissal mark has been assigned to Hawthorne School in March.

My client is very excited.''

However, Palm Springs civil attorney Jon Shoenberger, a partner with Schlecht, Shevlin and Shoenberger, said he did not expect today's announcement would provide much relief.

``This is a step in the right direction, but the backlog is still enormous,'' Shoenberger said. ``Civil trials have not been tried in Indio for well over a year. Indio is supposed to have four civil departments but until they start trying civil cases again there's no real solution.

Shoenberger said he expected most Coachella Valley civil cases hitting the five-year dismissal mark would be heard in Riverside first. Some of those cases would stop being sent to other counties like Orange or San Diego.

``But the district attorney needs to dispose of criminal cases quickly and be open to more plea negotiations,'' Shoenberger noted, adding he hoped the anticipated reopening of the county-owned Palm Springs Courthouse sometime this
year would also help with the backlog.

Mueller echoed that sentiment.

``There's an expectation that the Palm Springs Courthouse will reopen again sometime in 2008 and ideally civil trials will be heard in both Indio and Palm Springs,'' Mueller said.

Mueller said he hoped that seven new judges expected to arrive in the
county over the next year would help with the backlog.

``We're a growing county with a large number of filings and not enough
judges,'' he said.