Broderick Case in Limbo But the Legal Battles Continue

In Superior Court, Betty Broderick appears headed for retrial.

Once again she can portray Dan Broderick as a cruel father and treacherous husband who pushed her to violence.

Meanwhile, the San Diego County Bar Assn., as part of its overall building fund drive, has gathered $50,000 from lawyers and others for its Daniel T. Broderick III Memorial Fund.

The money will be used to refurbish a meeting room to be renamed in Broderick’s honor at the association’s headquarters in downtown San Diego.

An oil painting of Broderick may adorn the room. More than 100 big-name firms and practitioners have asked to be listed on a plaque as friends of Broderick.

But a mild dissent to the Broderick memorial has now been raised from an unlikely source.

Not from a feminist attorney or a criminal-defense lawyer, but rather from a 49-year-old retired Air Force pilot turned San Diego business and tax lawyer.

In a letter to the bar association magazine, Joseph E. Driscoll said that Dan Broderick’s death was “the culmination of uncontrolled mental and physical violence” involving both parties.

“In my opinion, his professional competence is in question because of the domestic violence, all of which affected their children--thus making debatable his compassion as a caring and loving father. So, what did we really know about him?”

Driscoll, who has practiced in San Diego for two years, suggested that the Broderick fund be used to “assist all who suffer from domestic violence.”

In a response that was longer than Driscoll’s letter, bar association President Virginia Nelson said that Broderick is being honored for his legal career. She also noted the bar’s work with the Domestic Violence Prevention Program.

Driscoll says he appreciated Nelson’s response but that it did not satisfy his concerns.

He says he continues to be concerned about a profession that sometimes puts a higher value on courtroom victories than on morality.

Some Things Never Change

Locals only.

* Crying Wolfe?

As Times reporter John Glionna pointed out this week, San Diego surf-turf wars are as real today as they were when Tom Wolfe wrote about the Pump House Gang.

If you believe Surfer magazine, the latest battle pits Point Loma locals against surf team members from Point Loma Nazarene College in the waves off Sunset Cliffs.

Says a letter purportedly signed by one Pat (Smedley) Phillips:

“Remember what you’re getting into when you paddle out, and don’t be a fool. Localism lives like soul surfing. And a special note to all you PLNC goons: Beware. . . . Take my advice and stay” away.

* First the route of the San Diego Marathon, set for Dec. 9, was changed because the marathon could not get permission to run through Del Mar.

Now the route of Saturday’s 50-mile Glendale Federal Bank Holiday Bowl Bicycle Tour also has been changed.

In past years, the bike tour has gone up the coast highway from La Jolla to Encinitas and back. This year it will loop through less-scenic Clairemont and Miramar instead.

Unlike the marathon, the bike tour did not get a turndown from Del Mar. But organizers decided to make the change anyway to avoid hassles.

Out With the Odd

In Lemon Grove, it’s against the law to molest an elk. Also, pool halls in Lemon Grove must be equipped with spittoons.

Both laws, musty leftovers from the turn of the century, are being repealed next month.

I know this because of San Diego attorney Vaughan de Kirby, whose specialties include finding the absurdities of the law.

For example, he discovered that San Francisco has a leash law for elephants.

De Kirby tried to see if San Diego has a similar rule. He was told he would have to bring a test case to determine if the city ordinance applies.

“I guess we’ll never know. I don’t have access to an elephant.”