Parking Crunch Threatens to Drive Jury Trials Away

GLENDALE —  The presiding judge here is threatening to move all jury trials out of town unless free parking is made available to jurors, setting off tremors in Los Angeles County’s Superior Court system.

“Except for January 1994, when we had to find temporary parking in Van Nuys for jurors and court staff because structures were coming down [after the Northridge earthquake], I’ve never heard of a parking situation like this,” said Gloria Gomez, county manager of juror services.

“It’s extremely serious, and has everyone looking for a solution, which I think we’ll find.”

Glendale is going through a growth spurt, with commercial construction and parking facilities going up around Brand Boulevard, the traditional shopping heart of Glendale, said Judge Charles Stoll, Glendale’s presiding judge, who manages Superior and Municipal Court operations here.

That construction, he said, has transformed once-free parking lots into commercial parking garages.

“We’re going to lose our last place for jurors to park for free in a matter of weeks, and then what?” Stoll said, recounting lots that have disappeared one by one beneath development. “If something isn’t done, I’ll have no choice but to move all jury trials here somewhere else.”

One open lot, on the site of the Glendale Fashion Center, on Wilson Street across from City Hall, is the last remaining lot for free juror parking and is slated to close in less than a month for construction, according to city officials.

But a solution, at least a temporary one, appears to be in the works.

The county is working with the city of Glendale on a deal that would allow jurors to park for free in the Marketplace commercial parking lot, five blocks from the courthouse. The $4 daily parking fee would be waived for jurors, according to city and county officials, who discussed and rejected this plan last month, arguing that it was unfair to businesses that depend on customer turnover in the garage.

But until a large sum of money--millions of dollars according to some estimates--can be raised to provide additional parking, the Glendale courthouse will have to rely on stopgap parking solutions, like the Marketplace plan, or simply ship juries elsewhere.

“We don’t want to move our trials to Burbank or Pasadena,” Stoll said.

“We want our jury trials here for our cases here. Parking is a problem everywhere in Los Angeles, but this is a serious issue. The courts don’t work without jurors.”

Without parking, the whole system fails, according to Victor Chavez, assistant presiding judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles, in a letter written to Glendale City Council members after they voted not to grant free parking to jurors in a commercial parking garage.

“The court cannot treat jurors so callously,” he wrote, in response to the city’s June 9 decision against waiving the Marketplace fee.

“Litigants, attorneys, witnesses and others who ordinarily have cases in Glendale will also have to go elsewhere for trials.”

Chavez noted that jurors earn only $5 per day, plus a small mileage rate, for their services and that it would cost $4 per day to park in a garage near the courthouse.

The solution, Chavez wrote, lies with the city and the county working together to find free parking near the courthouse. Up until this week, Stoll said, little communication between the city and county existed. “But things are hopefully moving now,” he said.

The Marketplace plan, Chavez said, will create more time to address the heart of the problem--lack of parking within easy walking distance of the court. But it is not a permanent fix, he wrote.

“We’re going to work with the city and the courts, and this problem will get solved,” said Lori Howard, justice deputy for county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district includes Glendale.

“We had terrific problems with parking after the Northridge quake, but this is unique. Fortunately, we’re confident parking will be found or created. Trials will continue in Glendale.”

The temporary Marketplace solution is still problematic, according to court observers. Many jurors are elderly, for instance, so walking can be a big problem for them, Stoll said.

“If it is the temporary solution, it will have to be very temporary,” he said.

A long-term solution, according to Glendale Councilman Dave Weaver, may include continuing free parking for jurors at commercial garages on and near Brand Boulevard and busing the jurors to the courthouse.

Council members Larry Zarian and Ginger Bremberg have pressed the county to purchase lots near the courthouse to address the problem. “We don’t like dragging jurors all over the place,” Stoll said. “They have an important job, and we need to make sure they can do it.”

At separate meetings Tuesday, the Glendale City Council will vote on a motion to waive or lower parking rates at the Marketplace garage for jurors, and the county Board of Supervisors will vote on an Antonovich motion to form a task force of representatives from the board, Glendale, the courts and the county’s Internal Services Department.

“Things are moving and we’re confident a solution, long-term as well as short-term, will be found,” said Glendale City Atty. Scott Howard, who is no relation to Lori Howard.

Maybe, joked one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the city and court could establish a valet service, similar to those found at upscale restaurants and stores.

“What the hey,” the official said. “This is virtually L.A. Why not?”