Almost every year the South Bay Court in Torrance sees a change in Judge assignments, particularly in the area of the criminal calendar.  This year we saw Judge Thompson leave the bench in Div 2 (She is missed and we hope she returns soon), we saw Judge Honeycutt take over Div P and we saw Judge Brandlin move on to a senior assignment in the downtown Court.  2013 will see an almost complete change in the bench officers hearing criminal matters.

First, Judge Mireless and Judge Grant seem to be presiding over Division 2 which hears all Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Lomita, Hermosa Beach  and PVE DUI and criminal cases.  Judge Chet Taylor is taking over in Division 5, a Courtroom that hears all Redondo Beach Cases.  Judge Sotello is now presiding in Division P which deal almost exclusively with Torrance Misdemeanor matters such as drunk driving, domestic violence and petty theft charges.  Judge Sokolov will remain in Division 4 to hear all felony arraignments and EDP.  Judges Honeycutt, Arnold, Taylor, and Van Sicklen all oversee the felony trial calendars in the Court.  That is, all felony cases start in Divsion 4, then go to Division 3 for a preliminary hearing thereafter the case is assigned to a trial court for all purposes.

Traffic cases will still be heard in the annex, however, due to budget cuts, the Torrance Court will no longer offer an informal juvenile traffic court in the rear of the complex.