‘Three-Strikes’ Law Spawns Specialist System in San Diego County : Courts: Four judges and designated prosecutors and public defenders will handle such cases exclusively in bid to avoid logjams.

SAN DIEGO — Faced with a glut of jury trials because of the “three-strikes” law, the district attorney, public defender and presiding judge of the Superior Court announced a plan Monday to avert judicial gridlock in the court system.

Henceforth, four veteran judges will handle nothing but “three-strikes” cases, in which a criminal defendant faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Also, designated prosecutors and deputy public defenders will be trained to handle only “three-strikes” cases.

Numerous counties in California are looking for methods to cope with the increased trial load because of “three strikes,” but San Diego is believed to be the first to hit upon the idea of having judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys become specialists.

The hope is that this will eliminate the scheduling delays that have begun to clog the courts as prosecutors and defenders juggle a variety of cases in different courtrooms.

Like many other areas of California, San Diego has seen a sizable increase in the number of criminal defendants requesting jury trials rather than accept a plea bargain since the Legislature passed the “three-strikes” law last year. That bill and a proposition endorsed by voters in November require lengthy prison sentences for defendants convicted of a third serious felony. The “three-strikes” movement was fueled by public anger over plea bargains and crimes by repeat criminals.

Felony trials were up one-third in San Diego last year because of “three strikes,” officials said, with an even greater increase expected for this year. The increase comes at a time when no county money is available for additional prosecutors, defense attorneys or court personnel.

Dist. Atty. Paul Pfingst, picking up on the baseball analogy of “three strikes,” said the new system should mean that as soon as a “three-strikes” case in the batter’s box is finished, the “three-strikes” case on deck will be ready to go.

“ ‘Three strikes,’ ” Pfingst said, “is having an effect on every court, district attorney, public defender and police department in the state.”

The theory behind the San Diego system, to be tried on a pilot basis, is that the judges, prosecutors and public defenders selected to handle only “three-strikes” cases will become experts in the legal intricacies of the new law, such as whether prior felonies count as a first or second strike.

Court officials are concerned that the increasing number of trials could undermine progress made in recent years in getting civil cases to trial. Criminal cases take precedence over civil trials.

Before the Legislature passed “three strikes,” the San Diego court system was staying even in terms of caseload: with roughly the same number of new cases being filed each month as cases being completed, either through a verdict, plea bargain or, in the case of civil cases, out-of-court settlements.

“The deluge of ‘three-strikes’ cases changed that,” said Presiding Judge James R. Milliken.

Milliken and the others are concerned about two possible impacts: One is the possible need to dismiss criminal cases if no judge can be found within the 60-day “speedy trial” rule set by law. The other is the delay in civil trials.

Just a few years ago, Milliken said, the average wait for a civil lawsuit to be brought to trial in San Diego was four years. With various streamlining methods, that wait has been whittled to 12 to 15 months, he said, but that could change as civil suits take a back seat to criminal cases.

Public Defender Frank Bardsley, whose office handles 90% of “three-strikes” cases because the defendants are indigent, said the system announced Monday, known as “direct calendaring,” will be “an extremely efficient, cost-effective way to conduct court business.”

But Elisabeth Semel, a San Diego defense attorney, said she is concerned that “three-strikes” cases will be dealt with “like a factory.”

“When any court becomes a mill, even the most sensitive judges become inured to the hardships, outrages and unfairness that you see everyday,” said Semel, past president of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. “That’s something to worry about.”

Orange County Superior Court has been able to handle the new caseload without delaying civil trials, said Presiding Judge James Smith. But in Los Angeles, some courts have had to stop handling any civil cases and concentrate solely on criminal cases.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have said the number of felony trials may increase 100% in 1995 because of “three strikes.”

“It’s very frightening as far as the civil justice system is concerned,” said Judge James Bascue, supervising criminal court judge in Los Angeles County. “It is very disruptive.”

Bascue said that along with increasing the number of trials for repeat defenders, the law is also making defendants in first offense cases reluctant to plea bargain, lest they get a first strike. Also, court trials are taking longer because defense attorneys take longer in jury selection and in arguing whether prior convictions should count as strikes, Bascue said.

Another problem involves overcrowding in jails as “three-strikes” defendants wait for trial rather than plea bargain, and to be transferred to state prison.