Judge Sirica, ‘Tired’ at 82, Calls It Quits

John J. Sirica, the tough-minded federal judge who guided the Watergate scandal from a third-rate burglary to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, said today that he has earned a vacation and is retiring effective Oct. 1.

“I’m just tired,” Sirica, 82, said. “After pretty near 30 years, there comes a time in a man’s life when he has to take it easier.”

Sirica presided over the trial of the original seven defendants in the Watergate break-in case and was credited with helping pry the lid off the worst political scandal in U.S. history.

On March 18, 1974, the day before he reached the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70, Sirica brought the case to another historic juncture by ordering the Watergate grand jury’s report on Nixon turned over to the House Judiciary Committee studying impeachment of the President.

Remained on Bench

The next day Sirica stepped down from his job as chief judge of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, but he remained on the bench and continued to preside over Watergate court actions. He took senior status as a judge and has remained active on the bench since then.

On Oct. 22, 1984, Sirica underwent a triple coronary by-pass operation in Washington.

“All during Watergate, fives years, I didn’t have a vacation. I think it had something to do with my heart attack. I think I’ve earned the right to take it easy,” Sirica said.

It was Sirica who, during the Watergate era, ruled that Nixon could not use the claim of executive privilege to avoid turning over the White House tapes--recordings Nixon had made of his private conversations in the Oval Office. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court.