Levitt Leaving S.D. Bench to Mixed Reviews

San Diego Superior Court Judge Jack Levitt, praised as a tireless workhorse by his peers but criticized by some attorneys who say they can’t get a fair hearing in his courtroom, is retiring from the bench.

Appointed to the Superior Court by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972, Levitt informed Presiding Judge Michael Greer of his plans in a memo Tuesday. Greer said the veteran jurist will officially turn in his robe Oct. 14.

Levitt, 62, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But Greer, who confessed he was surprised by the announcement, said his colleague plans to move out of the state and spend time with his family.

“I wanted to cry when I heard the news,” Greer said. “When I have a tough trial (to assign out), it goes to him. He’s the best. His knowledge of the workings of the court and the law is unequaled.”

Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman said Levitt is widely “viewed with awe as to his intelligence, his capacity for hard work and his impartiality as a judge . . . . We’ll probably need two judges to replace him.”

Some in the legal community welcomed news of Levitt’s retirement, noting that he was widely disliked--particularly by criminal defense lawyers--for his no-nonsense manner and alleged emphasis on form over substance in the courtroom.

“I think it represents one small step for justice in San Diego County,” said defense attorney Allen Bloom, who is one of the judge’s harshest critics. “I do not think there was fundamental justice in his court . . . . He was more interested in the picayune details of whether a document was properly prepared than in attempting to achieve ultimate fairness.”

Elisabeth Semel, another defense attorney, said “appearing in his courtroom was always considered punishment. As long as I’ve been practicing in this town, his reputation has been one of a man who is narrow-minded, has a real hostility toward the rights of the accused and puts expediency over the interests of justice.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes just a week after Gov. George Deukmejian filled three openings on the 4th District Court of Appeal. Although Levitt was at first a candidate for one of the seats, both Greer and Huffman, who sits on a screening committee that advises Deukmejian on judicial appointments, said Levitt recently withdrew his name from consideration.

“He’s a very honorable man and he felt an obligation to the governor not to take an appointment and then only serve for a few years,” Greer said. He added that he is “absolutely certain” that Levitt would have been named to the appellate Court had he remained in the running.

Born in Los Angeles, Levitt is a 1952 graduate of USC Law School, where he was 10th in his class. He was a deputy district attorney from 1954 to 1956 and after that entered private practice, trying both civil and criminal cases.

A Santee resident, the trim, bespectacled Levitt appeared to draw fire almost as soon as he was appointed to the bench 16 years ago. But recently, the attacks have mounted and have included occasionally pointed rebukes by the Court of Appeal, which has criticized him for excessive sternness and advocacy.

The Criminal Defense Bar Assn. last year requested action against Levitt by the state Commission on Judicial Performance because of cartoons he had posted on a bulletin board outside his courtroom.

In one of the cartoons, a judge was shown telling a defendant: “The jury has found you not guilty, but I’m going to give you two years to be on the safe side.” In the next panel, the judge adds: “And don’t go off whining to some higher court.”

Judy Clarke, president of the association in 1987, said the cartoons, which Levitt said were an attempt to show he had a sense of humor, “were disparaging to the defendants of the world.” She said the commission later informed her that “appropriate action had been taken.”

Defense lawyer Bloom, who has had a series of run-ins with Levitt, also filed a complaint with the commission, asking that the judge be removed from the bench for demonstrating a lack of judicial temperament. Officials at the commission could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

A study commissioned by Bloom of criminal court records found that from March, 1986, to March, 1987, lawyers formally challenged Levitt--thereby removing their cases from his court--10 times more often than any other judge.

Last year, the 4th District Court chided Levitt for refusing to turn over a transcript of a hearing to lawyers representing accused multiple murderer David Lucas. Retired Justice Edward Butler even wrote a separate opinion in the case, castigating Levitt for enlisting the help of the county counsel’s office on the appeal.

“Judges adjudicate, not advocate issues,” said Butler, who professed to be “puzzled” by Levitt’s conduct in the case.