Judge’s Credibility Lacking

As a judge of the San Diego Municipal Court, Lisa Guy-Schall from time to time is called upon to consider the credibility of witnesses. We can’t help wondering how she would react to a witness who told the same kind of story she told last week when she was accused of violating the Code of Judicial Conduct.

The trouble started when Guy-Schall showed up to speak on behalf of Gov. George Deukmejian at a candidates’ forum sponsored by the Southland Club for Business and Professional Women. Attorney Michael Aguirre, a Democrat who is not known for his reluctance to enter a controversy, was at the meeting representing Deukmejian’s opponent, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Aguirre filed a complaint with the California Commission on Judicial Performance alleging that Guy-Schall’s talk was a violation of judicial ethics guidelines that prohibit judges from endorsing or campaigning for candidates for non-judicial office.

Guy-Schall responded that she was unaware the meeting the Deukmejian campaign asked her to address was political. She said she never saw the flyer that clearly advertised the meeting as a political forum, and since she arrived late and spoke first she did not get the true sense of the meeting until Aguirre began to criticize her in his own speech.

Guy-Schall said her speech was not “a typical campaign talk,” but rather addressed the progress of women in business and industry during the last four years.

” . . . Naturally, Governor Deukmejian came into it,” she said.

It’s hard to imagine a judge being quite so naive. We suspect--and hope--that were this a case in Municipal Court, Judge Guy-Schall would find witness Guy-Schall lacking credibility.