CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Racketeering Case Against Judge Set

A federal judge has refused to dismiss racketeering and conspiracy charges against U.S. District Judge Robert Aguilar, ordering his trial to begin on Friday as scheduled. Aguilar is the first federal jurist ever charged with racketeering, a law usually intended to fight organized crime. The judge, who sits in San Jose, is also charged with conspiracy, obstructing justice and disclosure of wiretap information to a self-proclaimed mob assassin. Aguilar, 58, the fourth federal judge since 1980 to be indicted on federal criminal charges, is accused of running his judicial office as a racketeering enterprise.