Orange County Asks Halt in Dispute With Judges

SANTA ANA â€”  Orange County asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge late Wednesday to halt proceedings in its dispute with county judges over court funding, saying that recently passed state legislation makes the legal battle moot.

The new law, which the legislature passed two weeks ago, shifts some of the responsibility for court funding from the county to the state. Officials are still reviewing the law, but it appears the state could pick up as much as 30% of the funding now provided by the county.

Attorneys for the county argued in a motion Wednesday that the law resolves “most if not all� of the issues raised by the judges, who say the county has not allocated enough money for basic court operations.

The attorneys asked the judge to stay the case at least until the law goes into effect Jan. 1.

“If this litigation were to continue over the next several months . . . major judicial and [county] resources would be expended unnecessarily to the substantial detriment of Orange County taxpayers,� the attorneys say in their motion.

The case generated $380,000 in legal bills for the first six months of the year just for attorneys representing the county. The judges have not disclosed how much they have paid the outside law firm handling their briefs.

Orange County’s six presiding judges filed a civil complaint earlier this year saying the courts needed an additional $13 million to continue operations through the end of the fiscal year and an additional $10 million for capital improvements and technology upgrades.

The case centers on a state statue requiring counties to provide “suitable� and “sufficient� facilities.

Bill Grenner, an attorney representing the judges, said Wednesday that the new state legislation only addresses some of the issues raised in the lawsuit and that the case should move forward without delay. “The lawsuit is largely unaffected by this action,� Grenner said.