LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Judges Sue to Stop Merger Involving Marshal’s Office

Los Angeles County’s municipal judges filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the merger of the marshal’s office with the Sheriff’s Department, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 1.

The Los Angeles Municipal Court Judges Assn. is contesting the constitutionality of a state law adopted this year that allowed the Board of Supervisors to order consolidation of the two law enforcement agencies. The merger is expected to save about $11.2 million annually.

Named as defendants in the suit are the county, the board, county Chief Administrative Officer Sally R. Reed and Sheriff Sherman Block.

The judges want the marshals to continue to provide bailiff services in the county’s 24 municipal districts, and claim that the selection of bailiffs is a judicial function protected by the separation of the executive and judicial branches.

Their request for a temporary restraining order against the merger is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court, where the case has been transferred to avoid a conflict of interest, said Debra Healy, the judges’ attorney.

Earlier this month, the judges ordered the marshal to stop preparing for the merger, pending the outcome of the suit.