Thursday, July 11, 2002
Page 4
Burke Honors Court Administrator for Community Service
By a MetNews Staff Writer
South Central District Administrator Steven Forrest of the Los Angeles Superior Court was honored Tuesday by county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke for his dedication to community outreach.
The Compton courthouse has been involved in a number of community outreach project under Forrest’s direction, including a partnership with the Friends of the Alma Reaves Woods Watts Branch Library which allows the court to refurbished old and outdated computers to the library.
The library then puts those computers to use itself or provides them to at-risk kids who would not otherwise have access to one. More than 50 computers have been donated to the library so far.
The court staff also supports Operation Clean Sweep, an anti-litter and anti-graffiti program that draws on community volunteers to clean up local neighborhoods.
Forrest, who has served as the district administrator for the past two years, personally patrols the Civic Center complex where the courthouse is located each day to ensure it is graffiti-free.
A partnership of between the courthouse, the Sheriff’s Department, the Board of Supervisors, and the city of Compton, Operation Clean Sweep has made its way through two of the four districts that make up Compton, starting last fall.
More than 1,000 volunteers turned out for the first sweep, Forrest said.
The community involvement by the Compton courthouse staff falls in step with a directive by Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge James Bascue to “get out of the courthouse and into the community,” Forrest said.
In doing so, Forrest has placed an emphasis on making sure people who are called for jury service enjoy their time at the courthouse.
Fresh coffee is served to jurors while their wait to be called and movies are shown on the big screen television in the juror assembly room, mainly courtesy of Judge Jack W. Morgan’s extensive DVD collection.
“I hear gratitude that we don’t treat them like chickens or cattle,” Forrest said.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company