Man Shoots at Controversial Judge in Court

A gunshot was fired at a controversial Superior Court judge in his courtroom Monday morning but missed, authorities said.

After firing one shot at Judge Howard Broadman, the gunman laid down his weapon without firing again, said another judge, John Moran.

“The gunman thought he had hit Broadman and put the gun down,” Moran said.

Broadman’s bailiff was out of the courtroom delivering papers, but a bailiff came from another court and overpowered the assailant, police said.

Taken into custody was Harry Raymond Bodine, 44, of Tulare. A motive was not known.

“He was in the back and stood up and started shooting,” said court clerk Olivia Infante. “I didn’t see him because I was writing, but I heard the shot.”

Police Lt. Terry Ommen said Broadman’s life probably was saved because he was bent over his desk.

“If he had been sitting upright, the bullet would have been directly in the judge’s head,” Ommen said. He added that the gunman fired a .38-caliber bullet from a high-powered .357-magnum revolver.

The judge was hearing a family court matter, but it was unclear whether Bodine was involved in that case.

Broadman is noted for unusual rulings, but there was no indication that the shooting stemmed from any of them.

The most famous case was a ruling he made this year ordering the implant of the new Norplant long-term birth control device as a condition of probation for a convicted child abuser. The attorney for defendant Darlene Johnson has appealed.

The judge said pictures of the 4- and 6-year-old daughters Johnson pleaded guilty to beating showed significant bruising and scarring.

Johnson, 27, was pregnant with her fifth child during the court sessions in January. Three daughters have been placed in foster homes, and an 11-year-old son lives with the defendant’s mother in this community 150 miles north of Los Angeles.

Last year, Broadman set free on probation an ex-convict who stole two six-packs of beer on condition that the defendant wear a T-shirt in public proclaiming that he was a felon.

Another time, Broadman made the sale of a man’s shiny customized car a term of probation in hopes that losing his favorite possession might impress on the defendant the error of his ways.

The assailant Monday was able to get into court with a gun because there are no metal detectors outside the Tulare County courts or courthouse.

Moran said security concerns the judges, particularly when their armed bailiffs leave.

“This is a problem. I’m personally very aware when my bailiff is out of the courtroom.”