Judge Tharp to Retire From Superior Court

After 19 years on the San Diego Superior Court bench, Judge Ross G. Tharp announced his retirement Monday, effective the end of the month.

Tharp was described by colleagues as a tough, no-nonsense judge with a sharp wit. He handled all kinds of cases in civil, criminal, family and probate courts during his years on the bench.

“He was willing to take on any assignment, and he relished it,” said Presiding Judge Judith McConnell.

Tharp, 61, who is out of town, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Tharp served two years on the Municipal Court from 1969 to 1971, before then-Gov. Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Superior Court in 1971, where he earns $94,344 annually.

Tharp, a Republican, was defeated in 1980 when he ran for the state Assembly’s 78th District seat against incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Lawrence Kapiloff, who now is also a San Diego Superior Court judge.

From 1957 to 1961, Tharp was a San Diego city councilman.

Before moving to the bench in 1969, Tharp, who went to college and law school at Loyola University in Los Angeles, was in private practice for 14 years.

Tharp, who has been described as a conservative, is a law-and-order judge who believes in apple pie, motherhood and the flag, said Bill Selesky, who has been Tharp’s clerk for six years.

But, in court, Tharp also showed a softer side, giving defendants a chance if they deserved it, Selesky said.

“If he thought for a moment that this person could be rehabilitated or be a positive to society, he showed some leniency,” Selesky recounted.

Although he is retiring, Tharp hasn’t completely put his work as a jurist aside. He will be working on the backlog of civil-settlement conferences, McConnell said.

In a settlement conference, lawyers attempt to resolve a case before it goes to trial.

“I think he enjoys doing settlement conferences, and this will keep him from getting bored,” McConnell said.