Key Figure in D.A.’s Office Is Resigning

Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. James P. Cloninger, head of the office’s writs and appeals section and one of the chief architects of Proposition 115, announced his resignation Wednesday to take a similar position in Ventura County.

Cloninger, 37, was instrumental in the the campaign to put Proposition 115, a court reform measure, on the June 5 ballot. It was passed overwhelmingly by voters.

Cloninger said he was leaving for personal considerations and not because of any dissatisfaction with the district attorney’s office.

“To the contrary, these people have given me great opportunities,” Cloninger said. “This was just a personal decision to pursue other opportunities.”

Cloninger will join the felony panel at the Ventura County district attorney’s office in September.

Cloninger first gained attention in the office in 1984 when he successfully prosecuted Costa Mesa dentist Tony Protopappas, after three of the dentist’s patients died after anesthesia in his clinic. Protopappas was the first dentist in the country to be convicted of second-degree murder in such an incident.

A few years later, Cloninger played a major role in the pretrial hearings for serial killer Randy Steven Kraft. It was Cloninger’s criticisms of the Kraft attorneys that led to public speculation that the defense lawyers might be dragging out the case to remain on the public payroll longer.

Cloninger also played a lead role several years ago in the Orange County district attorney’s efforts to unseat then-Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and two others from the California Supreme Court. Prosecutors were upset with the three over their strong position against pending death penalty cases in the state.

But it was Proposition 115 that provided Cloninger with a major statewide role. Proposition 115, though still widely opposed by most defense attorneys, was designed to reduce the time between a defendant’s arrest and trial.

“I’ve done the things here that I really wanted to do, so I feel this is a good time to leave,” Cloninger said. “But I’m certainly going to miss a lot of the people. It’s a very good office.”

Cloninger joined the Orange County district attorney’s office right out of law school a little more than 10 years ago.