Saving Face Now Seen as Central Issue in Court Spat

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner is prepared to allow a Glendale Municipal Court commissioner who uttered a racial slur in court to resume hearing criminal cases, provided the bench officer makes certain concessions, according to sources close to the controversy.

Although Commissioner Daniel F. Calabro has publicly apologized for using the slur during a hearing last June, Reiner and his aides want Calabro to go further than he has so far in expressing regret, these sources said last week.

Such a face-saving gesture or others under discussion would enable the district attorney, who has been widely criticized for his attack on Calabro, to back down and permit the commissioner to return to his normal duties.

Urged Not to Yield

But while Calabro’s attorney, Lee Wenzel, said last week he was “optimistic that things can be resolved,” the commissioner’s three brothers, who practice law together in Glendale, are urging him not to yield at all.

“We feel very strongly that Reiner is in the wrong,” said Anthony J. Calabro, one of the brothers. “If anybody is going to do any apologizing, he’s the guy who has to apologize.”

Eager to break the stalemate, two top Reiner aides, special assistant Greg Thompson and Denis Petty, director of branch and area operations, have met twice in Glendale with Wenzel. Calabro and Cheryl Krott, presiding judge of the Glendale Municipal Court, were also present at the first meeting.

Thompson said a third meeting with Wenzel will take place Monday

Reiner himself has yet to talk with Calabro, despite a Sept. 8 Board of Supervisors resolution requesting that such a meeting take place.

Neither Reiner nor Calabro could be reached Saturday.

Reiner’s Objection

The controversy erupted Aug. 25 when Reiner announced that his office would no longer let Calabro preside over criminal matters because of a “strong possibility” that he is racially biased. Since Calabro is a commissioner, not a judge, both sides have to agree before he can hear cases.

Reiner cited a June 15 hearing for a white defendant from Burbank who was accused of attacking a black man after saying, “Your kind is not welcome here, nigger.”

“Another nigger case?” Calabro responded in open court, according to a transcript. “Another one where this nigger business came up? We’re not past that yet? I thought we were all past that.”

Calabro has said he was expressing dismay over the frequency of racially motivated cases, noting that a similar matter had come before him only five days earlier.

But Reiner labeled Calabro’s explanation a “contrivance,” saying the commissioner actually was “irritated” over being handed a sensitive case he had hoped to avoid.

Support From Colleagues

Calabro received an outpouring of support from colleagues in the Bar who defended his record on racial matters. While several black community leaders strongly criticized the commissioner at a Sept. 12 news conference, others gave him a warm reception at a prayer breakfast hosted by Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

In addition, Reiner is under pressure from several other quarters.

The State Bar of California’s office of investigation is “looking at the entire matter” involving Reiner and Calabro to determine if any formal charges should be filed, spokeswoman Anne Charles said. The scope of the investigation includes the district attorney’s conduct, as well as the commissioner’s, she acknowledged.

Last year, the State Bar publicly reproved Reiner for two actions he took in 1983 and 1984 while he was city attorney. The Bar said he violated conflict-of-interest rules when he publicly criticized members of a secret Police Department intelligence unit and when he launched a criminal investigation against a former city planning director who had consulted the city attorney’s office for advice.

The judiciary committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. is conducting a separate investigation of Calabro.

Hardship for Court

Further, Judge Krott, who last month announced that she could find no racial bias or “malicious conduct” on Calabro’s part, has complained about the hardship imposed by restricting a commissioner to traffic and civil matters, particularly since there is already a vacancy on the five-person Glendale bench.

“Obviously, our calendars are heavier regarding criminal matters because basically we’re handling the criminal matters that were handled by Calabro,” Krott said Friday.

Before Reiner can modify his stand on Calabro, however, he will need the support of the black leaders who backed him up after a meeting in his office, district attorney’s aides acknowledge.

Four of the participants in that meeting confirmed that they have been contacted by Reiner’s office but reserved judgment on any future agreement.

“I really want to wait and see what they come up with,” said John W. Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League. “At this stage of the game I don’t want to prejudge what’s going to be agreed upon.”

Mark Ridley-Thomas, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, said it was “premature” to take further action on Calabro until the County Bar Assn. investigation is complete.

“This is not an Ira Reiner or a Kenny Hahn show,” said Ridley-Thomas. “I’m not obliged to do what Ira Reiner or Kenny Hahn think appropriate unless I agree.”

Staff writer Stephanie O’Neill contributed to this report.