Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Page 3
Court Says Palmdale Courthouse Will Close on Dec. 1; Judges to Move to New Facility
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Palmdale courthouse will close Dec. 1, the Los Angeles Superior Court announced yesterday.
A court spokesman said the fate of the courthouse, which is owned by the City of Palmdale, had been under consideration for months. A new Lancaster courthouse, the Michael D. Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse, will be dedicated Oct. 16 and open for business Oct. 20.
Operations at the existing Lancaster courthouse will move to the new facility Oct. 20. Court spokesperson Allan Parachini said the courthouse will then be renovated for use as a juvenile justice center for the Antelope Valley.
Parachini said no timeline is yet available for the renovation project.
Judge Frank Jackson, who sits in Palmdale, said the decision was “what people had been expecting.”
“It was anticipated, but we were still trying to find a way to avoid it,” Jackson said.
He and Judge Brian Yep will continue to hear cases at the Palmdale courthouse until it closes in December, Jackson explained, while the other three Palmdale jurists-Comissioner Victor I. Reichman, Commissioner Michael J. Convey, and Judge Mark Juhas—will move to the Antonovich Courthouse on Oct. 20.
North District Supervising Judge Steven D. Ogden said the Juvenile Court will remain in a satellite building of the Lancaster courthouse which it shares with the Sheriff’s Department. Juvenile traffic court, however, will move to the Antonovich courthouse, Ogden said.
Parachini said the decision to abandon the Palmdale facility will save the court about $500,000 annually. The future use of the building will be up to the city to decide, he said.
The statement released by the court said the renovation of the old Lancaster courthouse “is being made possible by identification by Supervisor Antonovich of Los Angeles County funds to cover construction costs.”
Copyright 2003, Metropolitan News Company