Served for 44 Years Before Retiring : Judge May Be Called Back for Encore at 74

Robert Gardner, the 74-year-old jurist who retired from the state appellate court in Santa Ana after serving longer than any other state judge, is considering a return to the bench.

Gardner was asked by the state Judicial Council to serve in a temporary capacity with the 4th District Court of Appeal to help with a steadily increasing caseload in the Santa Ana division.

“I would be interested,” Gardner said this week. “All things equal, I’d like to go back for the hell of it, and because I decline retirement, thank you.”

Gardner served on the bench for 44 years; he was first appointed at age 26 to the Municipal Court bench in 1938, later appointed by Gov. Earl W. Warren to Superior Court and then by Gov. Ronald Reagan to the appeal panel. He was known as a straight-talking jurist who pulled no punches.

He is also an expert body-surfer--a sport he was able to indulge during his recent tenure as chief justice of the High Court of American Samoa, a 3 1/2-year, post-retirement assignment from which he returned last month.

Gardner said he will decide soon whether to return to the bench he left in December, 1981, when he reached 70. As a retired judge, he receives about 75% of his 1980 salary. If he returns on a temporary basis to the appellate court, the pay would increase to about 92%, Gardner said.

Statistics compiled by the state Administrative Office of the Courts show that as of April, the four-judge Santa Ana division received more appeals of civil cases by far than any other appellate division in the state.

Since his return from Samoa, Gardner has been active in a private arbitration and mediation service that helps the Superior and appellate courts attempt to settle cases out of court.

Gardner’s return from Samoa was delayed for three months. He took the job for three years but was asked to stay the additional 90 days to help clear up some pending cases.

“You could say I’m the most retired judge in the world,” Gardner observed.