Los Angeles County Superior Court

In the face of an avalanche of three-strikes filings, judges at the downtown Criminal Courts Building have implemented a speedy-trial plan that has done the seemingly impossible--sharply cut an immense backlog of cases. Even though more cases than ever are going to trial because of the state's three-strikes law, the number of total cases pending as of July 31 in the county's downtown courts has reached a 20-year low, according to court statistics released Wednesday.

Authorities are investigating why $1.2 million, and possibly a lot more, is missing from Los Angeles County Superior Court bank accounts, and they are focusing on whether a senior accountant illegally distributed or even stole the money, court officials said Tuesday. The accountant, Gregory Pentoney, was sent a letter of discharge from his post as top auditor for the court system earlier this month, court officials said. Pentoney could not be reached for comment.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky appointed two San Fernando Valley residents to the county's Judicial Procedures Commission, the supervisor's office said Wednesday. The appointees are Studio City resident John A. FitzRandolph, dean and professor at Whittier College School of Law, and Encino resident Janice Kamenir-Reznick, an attorney and partner in the Sherman Oaks-based law firm of Reznick & Reznick. "I'm proud to welcome these . . .

An Orange County judge ordered a hearing Friday to determine if there is enough evidence to grant former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt a new trial on the murder conviction that has kept him behind bars for a quarter-century. Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey, who was assigned the case after the entire Los Angeles County Superior Court bench was disqualified in September, set Dec. 16 to begin hearing testimony in his Santa Ana courtroom.

An Orange County judge ordered a hearing Friday to determine if there is enough evidence to grant former Black Panther Party leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt a new trial on the murder conviction that has kept him behind bars for a quarter-century. Superior Court Judge Everett W. Dickey, who was assigned the case after the entire Los Angeles County Superior Court bench was disqualified in September, set Dec. 16 to begin hearing testimony in his Santa Ana courtroom.

Depending on how you look at it, the only Superior Court race on Tuesday's ballot is a case of either insider vs. outsider, or well qualified vs. not qualified. The contest pits veteran downtown Municipal Judge Karl W. Jaeger against the top vote-getter in the primary, Citrus Municipal Judge Patrick B. Murphy. Jaeger said he has dreamed of becoming a Superior Court judge since he was a bailiff while attending law school.

A panel of Superior Court judges is calling for a $2.4-million system of alarms, closed-circuit cameras, metal detectors and guards to protect the sprawling downtown Los Angeles civil court building in the wake of a fatal shooting there last year. Endorsed by a committee of high-ranking Superior Court judges, the plan recommends hiring 43 more security guards. It comes as an increasing number of overflow cases from the criminal courthouse are being funneled to the North Hill Street facility.

Imprisoned former Black Panther Party official Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt's efforts to have his murder conviction overturned suffered a potential setback Friday when a judge disqualified the entire Los Angeles County Superior Court bench from hearing the case. Pratt's attorneys had been anticipating a hearing as early as next month on evidence they say points to Pratt's innocence. But Superior Court Judge Michael A. Cowell ruled Friday that because fellow Superior Court Judge Richard P.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance on Thursday recommended that a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge be publicly censured for making sexually inappropriate remarks to a court stenographer and directing ethnically offensive comments to other court employees. The commission found that Judge Norman Gordon referred to a court clerk as "the little Mexican" or "peon" and called another stenographer, who is of Japanese ancestry, "little Buddhahead."