OAKLAND, Calif. -- Attorneys in a mega-case involving more than 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests throughout Northern California are back in court today to resolve a host of pretrial procedural issues.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw, who is overseeing the cases, wants to refine and narrow the issues in the cases before the first of them go to trial next March.

The alleged sex abuse victims are suing Roman Catholic Church officials under a bill passed in the state Legislature in 2002 which lifted the statute of limitations, for one year only, on lawsuits filed against churches, schools and other institutions where employees allegedly molested children.

That bill allowed victims of abuse dating back many years, even as far back as the 1930s, to file suit during a one-year window in 2003.

One of the issues being discussed today is a request by defense lawyers for church officials that Sabraw narrow a previous ruling by a special court master that church officials give to the alleged victims' attorneys documents from the perpetrator priests' personnel files.

The case in Oakland is known as "Clergy Three" because it follows similar mega cases in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas that are known as "Clergy One" and "Clergy Two," respectively. Those cases involve hundreds of other clergy sex abuse lawsuits.

A settlement was reached recently in the Southern California cases. It reportedly was the largest settlement ever for sexual abuse by priests.

Although some of the Northern California cases will go to trial, attorneys for both sides hope that most of the cases settle before going to trial.