Twice the Space for Appeals Division : Court Moves to Roomier Quarters

Six law clerks shared one tiny office. Lawyers scrambled for even the smallest bit of clear working space in the standing-room-only library. And tracking down a book among the cramped shelves and storage areas was a task that would have frustrated anyone.

That all ended Friday when the staff of the county division of the state 4th District Court of Appeal packed up law dictionaries, computers and case files and moved about a dozen blocks northeast in downtown Santa Ana to a sprawling, two-story new home.

The new 60-room building, taking up more than 26,000 square feet in an early California-style structure on the corner of 10th and North Spurgeon streets, gives the court twice the space it had.

For the past 5 years, since shortly after the opening of the Court of Appeal division, the court had functioned in what were seen as interim offices at the Sun West Bank building on Santa Ana Boulevard.

Outgrew Old Quarters

But the appellate court, with its caseload growing substantially each year, quickly outgrew those quarters--to the point that it was sometimes difficult to carry on business.

“It was really sort of embarrassing to have (lawyers and clerks) working in such substandard conditions,� Justice Edward J. Wallin said Friday afternoon as he began moving into his new chambers.

Added librarian Clint Rees: The old quarters “made it pretty impossible to provide a real work environment for the attorneys who used the place.�

The new building is spacious.

And the bright, airy rooms have fresh paint, new chandeliers, new lighting systems and plush new rugs, all the result of a $1.5-million internal renovation authorized by the Legislature.

When the court first began looking for a permanent home a few years ago, the justices set their sights on the Old County Courthouse building. But when that fell through, they settled on the newly constructed Spurgeon Street building.

The court has a 10-year lease on the structure, owned by Santa Ana resident Larry Moore. And the justices seem so pleased with their new surroundings that they said Friday they are virtually certain to exercise another 10-year option a decade from now.

“This really gives us the space we need to grow years down the road,� said Justice Thomas F. Crosby Jr., “and it looks like it’s going to work out great for us.�

Still remaining is the question of staffing to fill the building. With a backlog of almost 500 pending cases, the court could now use at least three more justices in addition to the present five, Crosby said.

But the air of fiscal constraint in Sacramento and Orange County’s relatively unsuccessful record of getting funding for additional court personnel make that prospect anything but a sure bet, Crosby said.

Even with the sense of promise offered by the spacious building, Friday’s move was not without its glitches.

The power lines for the computer system were installed at too low a voltage and had to be rewired. A number of phones never arrived. And a few messengers were not sure whether to deliver filings for the court to the old building or the new one.

But then again, as several justices pointed out, it was Friday the 13th.

Working Weekend

The court should be more or less open for business on Tuesday. The court’s staff plans to work this weekend to unpack and set up shop.

But Justice Sheila P. Soneshine has already gotten a jump on her colleagues by putting her own distinctive stamp on her chambers.

Rather than the traditional soft blue rug and brown wooden decor, Soneshine opted for what is, by court standards, a radical pink-and-black motif, complete with a leather sofa and black speckled rug.

Anyone entering her bright pink bathroom is warned by a sign: “Due to the force generated by the walls of this room, we ask that expectant mothers and those with weak hearts please not use this facility.�

And what do her fellow justices think of Soneshine’s interior design work?

“I have no comment,� smirked Crosby.