Court Aide Charged in Drug Sale : Crime: A judge’s stenographer has taken a leave of absence after being accused of selling $100 worth of cocaine to undercover police officers.

A court stenographer for the presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court has been charged with a felony drug count alleging that she sold $100 worth of cocaine to undercover Los Alamitos police officers.

Kathy Lynn McCammon, 33, who worked for Judge Philip E. Cox for about two years, faces prosecution in Municipal Court on one count of selling cocaine. She has taken a leave of absence from her county position pending the outcome of the case.

McCammon, who lives in Los Alamitos, was arrested at the Central Courthouse in Santa Ana in early September on suspicion of selling less than a gram of cocaine to undercover officers at a bar during the summer. She has not been accused of selling drugs at the courthouse.

According to police reports, McCammon allegedly participated in a $100 sale of cocaine with Anthony D. Padilla, 28, of Seal Beach, who also has been arrested and charged with three felony counts of selling cocaine. Police allege they purchased small amounts of cocaine from him several times since June.

On Sept. 22, Municipal Court Judge Marvin G. Weeks determined during a preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence to try Padilla in Superior Court. He has been released on $10,000 bail.

McCammon’s case is still pending in Municipal Court. If convicted, Padilla and McCammon, who has also been released pending trial, face maximum penalties of five years in prison on each count. The defendants could not be reached for comment Friday.

James L. Smith Jr., the assistant presiding judge of Superior Court, said this week that the case put the court in a difficult position in deciding whether to relieve McCammon of her reporting duties in Department 1, which handles court calendars and occasional legal motions.

“On the one hand you have the presumption of innocence,” Smith said. “On the other, you expose the court to possible ridicule for putting a person in a responsible position who is under indictment.”

Court reporters are responsible for taking down verbatim the proceedings of court cases and making transcripts of those actions for attorneys and the court.

Smith said the situation has also put Cox in an uncomfortable position of having a member of his court staff--a person he has known--arrested in a drug case.

“No matter what, it is a lose-lose situation for him,” Smith said. “If he helps the accused, he could be accused of impropriety. If he doesn’t help in some way, it looks like he has abandoned her.”

The problem of how to deal with McCammon was resolved shortly after her arrest when she voluntarily agreed to take an unpaid leave of absence for at least three months, Smith said. No suspension, termination or discipline has been considered yet, he added.

Cox declined to discuss the situation this week except to say that he has removed himself completely from any involvement in the McCammon matter. A court official said the court has tried to make sure that McCammon is not treated any differently than others so accused.

According to court records, McCammon has insinuated in the past that she did not have to worry about getting into trouble for drugs because she worked for the court and “knew people.” Police said there is no evidence that she has received any favoritism from law enforcement authorities.