Judge’s Attorney Questions Motives : Battery Case Against Davis Involves Pregnant Girlfriend

The attorney for San Diego Municipal Judge Joseph K. Davis, accused of beating his pregnant girlfriend, on Wednesday said the city attorney’s office may be pursuing a misdemeanor battery charge against the judge because prosecutors object to his judicial philosophy.

Attorney Jan Ronis, noting that city prosecutors repeatedly have sought to move criminal cases from Davis’ courtroom, said he had “a real concern” about the motives of the city attorney’s office in bringing the case.

A top city prosecutor firmly denied Ronis’ allegations, insisting that Davis’ case was being handled no differently than that of any other defendant.

“The relationship of my office with Judge Davis has had and will have no effect on the prosecution of Judge Davis for battery,” Chief Deputy City Atty. Stuart Swett said.

Ronis, in an interview, said it also may have been inappropriate for the city attorney’s office to investigate allegations against a judge whom its lawyers regularly appear before.

“I don’t know of a judge in San Diego that’s pro-defense. Some judges are less prosecution-oriented than others,” Ronis said. “When you get a judge who’s completely fair, it kind of offends the sensitivities of prosecutorial agencies.”

Davis, 41, was a supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society when he was appointed to the bench by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. in March, 1980. He previously was an assistant city attorney.

The city attorney’s office issued a complaint Tuesday against Davis, charging him with a battery Nov. 23 on his live-in girlfriend, Anna Monica Garcia.

Garcia, 24, initially made a citizen’s arrest on Davis, accusing him of an unlawful use of force against her. She also obtained a court order prohibiting him from coming near her, her child, their home or her workplace. In applying for the restraining order, Garcia alleged that Davis shoved and shocked her and punched her in the abdomen during the Nov. 23 incident.

But last week, Garcia allowed court action on the temporary restraining order to be delayed indefinitely. And she declined to sign a formal charge against Davis, leaving it to a deputy city attorney to swear out the complaint, according to court records.

Neither Garcia nor Davis could be reached for comment.

Ronis said Wednesday that Garcia had told defense investigators that the allegations of battery were a “fabrication” and that she and Davis are living together amicably again.

“She completely recants the story, saying it was simply an emotional outburst on her part to try to lash out at him as a result of an argument they were having,” Ronis said.

“I don’t think there’s a man alive who’s not been in a fight with a woman,” he added. “Emotions run high in those sorts of situations.”

Asked if he believed the charge against Davis was being pursued because of the judge’s philosophical differences with city prosecutors, Ronis said:

“That’s a real concern on my part, in view of the reluctance of the witness. In view of the fact the witness has recanted her story, it certainly leads one to speculate what their motives are.”

Swett, however, said it is common in domestic violence cases for the victim to become unwilling to cooperate after initially bringing a complaint.

“In these kinds of cases we have to make a decision on whether to proceed even if the victim is reluctant,” he said. “We did it in this case, as we have in others.”

Swett declined to discuss details of the case or to assess the attitude of the city attorney’s office regarding Davis’ judicial philosophy. He conceded, though, that city prosecutors “in certain cases” have sought to remove criminal cases from Davis’ courtroom.

Davis is scheduled to be arraigned on the battery charge Dec. 24.

Ronis said he may challenge the propriety of the city attorney’s office acting as the prosecuting agency in the case. Swett said the office considered passing the case along to another agency, but found no legal reason to step aside.

“Other prosecutorial agencies would be in the same position,” Swett said. “The district attorney appears before the Municipal Court judges as much as we do.”