Court Administrator Takes Over From Veteran

Michael Planet knows it won’t be easy stepping in behind Sheila Gonzalez, a virtual superstar in the world of court administration who left the county’s top job for a state post last month. But he has a plan.

“My job will be to just sort of stay out of the way, at least until I figure out what’s going on,” he said.

Those who know him say the comment is typical of Planet, 45, who spent 10 years as court administrator for King County Superior Court in Seattle, where he slashed the case backlog from 65,000 to 20,000, beefed up court security and introduced such innovative ideas as counseling for jurors who serve on gruesome cases.

Gonzalez left Ventura County to become the state’s first regional courts administrative director. She will have responsibilities in 10 Central and Southern California counties.

During her 14 years with Ventura, Gonzalez started a free legal clinic in the courthouse, put kiosks in malls so traffic tickets could be paid electronically and installed a video network allowing judges to arraign jailed defendants via television screen. She also computerized court filings, many of which can be accessed over the Internet.