Old Courthouse Stars for a Day

The proceedings might have bored fans of TV’s “Judge Judy,” but the first-ever Orange County visit by the California Supreme Court drew hundreds of awe-struck court watchers Thursday.

The justices drew herds of lawyers, judges, law students and clerks to the Old Orange County Courthouse, where spectators crammed in for a glimpse. Many law aficionados could barely contain their excitement.

“I’ve got some butterflies in my stomach, sure,” said veteran court reporter Bill Worley, as he prepared his stenograph machine for Thursday’s visit. “It’s hard when you have to listen to seven [justices] but I think I’ll be OK.”

Thursday’s visit was arranged by the Orange County Bar Assn. to coincide with the 100th anniversary of both that organization and the landmark sandstone courthouse in Santa Ana. The building now houses historical commission offices, museum space and the county’s wedding license office.

Only a select group of bar association members and students was permitted into the courtroom. Several hundred other students and lawyers packed viewing rooms in the more modern Superior Court building and at the county administration building.

As attendees passed a chirping metal detector at the old courthouse, second-year law student Lori Myers waved a coveted admission ticket. Myers, wearing a black suit and toting a briefcase, couldn’t believe her good fortune.

“I was pretty much jumping up and down when I won the ticket in a lottery,” said Myers, one of those who won the Western State College of Law’s drawing for a ticket. “I couldn’t describe to my non-law school friends how exciting it was. . . . I’d pass up meeting Edward Norton or Madonna for a chance to see the Supreme Court.”

The four cases at hand involved a death penalty appeal, a man who slipped in a puddle of milk at a Kmart, a defense lawyer’s request to review a police officer’s personnel file and a matter involving the refund of utility fees. The court heard arguments but will rule on the cases at a later date.

In each case, lawyers withstood a barrage of withering questions from the panel of justices. From time to time, lawyers in the audience would nudge each other or grimace when an arguing attorney groped for an answer or stuttered an unconvincing response.

“I was feeling a little nervous for those lawyers,” Orange County Superior Court Judge David Chaffee told a group of about 200 high school students who watched the session on television screens across the street. “How would you like there to stand and bear the brunt of those questions?”

Among the score of dignitaries who were invited to the court’s opening ceremonies Thursday was former state appeals court judge Robert Gardner. The 89-year-old retired jurist worked at the gothic courthouse in the 1940s, and said he was pleased to see the building back in action.

“It’s exactly the way I remember it,” Gardner said as he scanned the courtroom’s oak wainscoting and globe chandeliers. A high-ceilinged skylight bathed the well and gallery in sunlight.

“The only thing that’s missing is the old judge’s chair,” Gardner said, adding he was happy none of Supreme Court justices had to endure a long session sitting on it.

“That was the most uncomfortable seat ever created. It was agony, like something out of the Spanish Inquisition,” he added. “I hope they burned it.”