O.C. Board Names Capizzi as D.A.; Challenger Sues

Michael R. Capizzi, Cecil Hicks’ longtime choice to succeed him as Orange County district attorney, was unanimously selected for the job by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, just moments before Hicks took the oath as a Superior Court judge.

Capizzi, 50, who has held the title of chief assistant since 1986, directed Hicks’ campaign against political corruption in the 1970s. He also was architect of most of Hicks’ major policies in the 1980s, including an end to most plea bargaining and closed-door agreements with defense lawyers.

But his first battle as district attorney may be over the right to keep his job.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Avdeef, one of two challengers to Capizzi within the office in the June, 1990, election, filed legal action Tuesday afternoon in Superior Court in an attempt to void the supervisors’ vote. He was joined by Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright, who was next in line to succeed Hicks if the supervisors had not acted.

Court Commissioner Julian Cimbaluk has set a Feb. 2 hearing date on Avdeef’s complaint that the board does not have the authority to replace Hicks. Avdeef contends that the law requires that Enright, as chief deputy, replace Hicks until a new district attorney is elected. The hearing is scheduled before Superior Court Judge Eileen Moore.

If Avdeef’s effort fails, Capizzi’s appointment Tuesday to serve out the final year of Hicks’ term means he can run on the June ballot for the 1991-1995 term as the incumbent. Most legal and political experts in the county believe that would make him unbeatable. Avdeef and Assistant Dist. Atty. Edgar A. Freeman, the third candidate in the June race, acknowledge that it will give him “a startling advantage.”

Few people expect Avdeef’s challenge to succeed. Board Chairman Thomas F. Riley said he has been assured by the county counsel’s office that the supervisors have the authority to appoint Hicks’ replacement.

There was a small uproar in 1966 when Hicks himself was appointed to fill the term of retiring Dist. Atty. Kenneth Williams. But that challenge died without going to court. The board has routinely made appointments to fill such positions without challenge.

But Avdeef, in a letter to Riley, said he was bringing the issue to the board’s attention to spare the supervisors “embarrassment.” The claim in his lawsuit essentially is that the supervisors, as a county body, do not have the authority to make an appointment to what amounts to a state agency.

“Tom (Avdeef) is wrong on the law,” Capizzi said. “This just doesn’t have any merit.”

If Capizzi was upset by the Avdeef lawsuit, which had been promised for weeks, he did not show it. He spent most of the afternoon accepting congratulatory telephone calls. A highlight of the day and his career, he said, was to have Cecil Hicks administer the oath of office with Capizzi’s own family, including his mother, Adelaide, watching.

Hicks had endorsed Capizzi’s candidacy before his judicial appointment came through.

Hicks, 63, who has been district attorney for 23 years, announced five months ago that he would not seek reelection in June. Soon after that he let Gov. George Deukmejian know of his interest in a judgeship. The governor appointed him to the bench on the Friday before Christmas.

Because Hicks’ name is listed on all the criminal pleadings before the court, he will not be able to handle criminal cases for a year or two. He was appointed by Judge Leonard Goldstein, the new presiding judge, to Department 8, which is a family law courtroom.

“I told them I’d go wherever I was needed,” Hicks said.

Hicks told reporters that the judicial code of conduct limited any further comment on Capizzi’s candidacy, but added, “I can say that he is an exceptionally outstanding choice to replace me.”

Avdeef was present at the Hall of Administration when the supervisors vote 5 to 0 to appoint Capizzi. While he had said earlier that he might voice his objections, he sat silently as the supervisors took turns lavishing praise on Capizzi.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton described Capizzi as Hicks’ “field general in the war on political corruption” in the 1970s.

“Mike did his job so well that those who would corrupt our political system are out of positions of power,” Stanton said.

Hicks’ investigations led to 42 indictments of political figures during those years. The charges stemmed primarily from misuse of public funds, money laundering and bribery. Among those indicted were a congressman, Andrew J. Hinshaw, and three county supervisors, Robert Battin, Ralph Diedrich and Philip Anthony. Battin and Diedrich were forced from office and Anthony, while under indictment, was defeated for reelection by Stanton in 1980.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez called Capizzi “tough but fair” and said he is someone “who will continue that tradition of leadership built by Cecil Hicks.”

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder quipped that she benefited from Capizzi’s housecleaning when she began her own political career in the county in the 1970s.

“I didn’t have some of the problems my predecessors had about where the files were,” she said.

Capizzi began his career in the district attorney’s office in 1965 right after passing the bar. He worked his way up to assistant--a rank above deputy--in 1971.

During the early 1980s, Enright was second-in-command on paper as chief deputy. But Hicks in the mid-1970s had turned over most of the major duties for day-to-day operations to Capizzi. In 1986, Hicks tried to make Capizzi’s powers within the office clearer by creating for him the title of chief assistant. Enright was still second-in-command in the statutes, but it was Capizzi’s name under Hicks’ in the county directory.

No one within the office doubts who had the real power.

“Mike’s appointment really won’t mean much different for us,” said one deputy prosecutor. “He’s been running the office for years anyway.”

Some in the office had seen Enright as the only viable candidate to run against Capizzi in the June election. But Enright has been silent so far about whether he will. Many believe now that if he is interested, he has waited too long.

But Enright did feel strongly enough about Capizzi’s appointment to ask Avdeef if he could join his lawsuit, said Avdeef attorney Kevin McDermott.

Enright’s declaration states that he, not Capizzi, has always been in charge any time Hicks was out of town or on vacation. Enright also noted that the supervisors have never inquired about his interest in replacing Hicks.

Enright and Capizzi have long held a friendly but adversarial relationship within the office. While Enright is popular with rank-and-file deputies, Capizzi has the support of most of the top supervisors.

Capizzi is a former president of the Orange County Bar Assn. He won the prestigious Outstanding Prosecutor award from the California District Attorneys Assn. in 1980 for his political prosecutions. Capizzi received a bachelor of science degree from Eastern Michigan University in 1961 and his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1964, joining the Orange County district attorney’s office shortly thereafter.

NO CONTEST--Michael R. Capizzi’s ascension has long been expected. A16