Orange County Prosecutors’ Group Fights Bird

A private group of Orange County prosecutors critical of state Supreme Court Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird on Monday announced that they will volunteer for speaking engagements to explain what they called her record “in favor of criminals.”

The group, called Prosecutors Working Group, made its opposition to Bird’s reelection official at a press conference Monday. Orange County prosecutors have long been highly critical of Bird, primarily because of her voting record striking down capital punishment verdicts.

The prosecutors whose names are listed as the head of the committee are Wally Wade, Tony Rackauckas, Wendy Brough, Guy Ormes, and James Cloninger. But more than two dozen other Orange County prosecutors appeared at the news conference in front of the Santa Ana courthouse to show their support for the committee’s anti-Bird position.

Bird was appointed chief justice by former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 1977 and was retained by the voters in 1978. She and two other justices, Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, are on the 1986 ballot to be retained on the bench for 12 more years.

Bird has referred to her opponents as “right wing,” but Orange County prosecutors Monday said politics has nothing to do with their opposition.

“We aren’t opposed to liberal judges, we just want judges who will follow the law,” Rackauckas said.

Bird has voted no on 38 death penalty verdicts. However, she has said she will vote for the death penalty in cases where she finds it appropriate.