Third Judge Named, Will Preside Over Broderick Trial

The murder trial of Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick was assigned Thursday to yet another Superior Court judge, this time to a former deputy prosecutor appointed just this year to the bench.

Judge Thomas Whelan will preside over the case, scheduled to go to trial Sept. 18, it was announced at a brief hearing by the court’s criminal case assignment judge, Jesus Rodriguez.

Whelan is the third judge Rodriguez has appointed to the case since April. The first judge disqualified herself and the second was challenged by Broderick’s defense lawyer.

Broderick, 42, is accused of murdering her ex-husband, Daniel T. Broderick, 44, a prominent medical malpractice lawyer, and his new wife, Linda Kolkena Broderick, 28, last Nov. 5. She has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail at the County Jail in Las Colinas.

Saying that he was satisfied with Whelan, defense lawyer Jack Earley dropped an avowed challenge to each of the 69 judges in the San Diego Superior Court.

Earley had contended that, because Daniel Broderick was a prominent lawyer in San Diego’s “close-knit” legal community, Betty Broderick could not get a fair trial before a San Diego judge. Daniel Broderick was a former president of the county bar association.

The prospective challenge, however, was “starting to interfere with ability to prepare the case for trial,” Earley said.

Whelan, “from all accounts from all people, is a very fair and very conscientious person,” making him an attractive choice, Earley said. He added, “There’s no guarantee when you go out of county that you’re going to get somebody with as good a reputation.”

Besides, Broderick wants to get the case over with, Earley said.

Whelan was appointed in January to the bench. He had been with the county district attorney’s office since 1969, and, upon appointment, was a senior deputy at the office’s branch in El Cajon.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kerry Wells, the prosecutor in the case, said she and Whelan had no significant contact when he was with the district attorney’s office. “I just think he’ll be a fair judge,” Wells said.

Rodriguez first assigned the case to Judge Laura P. Hammes. She disqualified herself because she once had worked for the district attorney’s office, where her husband still works. Hammes took the action after Earley refused to give up his rights to claim on appeal that her prior employment--and her husband’s work--adversely affected the trial. The issue apparently did not surface with Whelan, although he also is a former prosecutor.

Rodriguez then assigned it to Judge Franklin Mitchell, who sits in Vista. That was unacceptable to Earley, and, though Rodriguez agreed to let Mitchell preside over the case in San Diego, Earley decided two weeks ago to challenge Mitchell.

That decision prompted Rodriguez’s switch to Whelan.

Daniel and Linda Broderick were found shot to death in their bedroom. Betty Broderick confessed to the slayings in a March interview with The Times, calling the slayings a “desperate act of self-defense” against a man who wanted to control her.

Daniel and Betty Broderick divorced in 1986, after 16 years of marriage. During and after the bitter divorce, Betty accused Daniel of using his legal influence to cheat her out of her fair share of his seven-figure income.