Judge’s Immunity From Lawyer’s Civil Rights Suit Rejected on Appeal

A public defender’s suit against a Los Angeles judge, who allegedly told police to grab the lawyer and haul him into a Van Nuys courtroom, was reinstated Friday by a federal appeals court.

If Superior Court Judge Raymond Mireles ordered officers to use excessive force against Howard Waco, Mireles was acting outside his “judicial capacity” and therefore would have lost a judge’s usual protection from damage suits, said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mireles, a 1985 appointee of Gov. George Deukmejian, was publicly reproved for the incident by the state Commission on Judicial Performance last June. The commission, in findings that are not binding on Waco’s suit, said Mireles had not intended for officers to use force on Waco but made careless remarks that “appeared to authorize their use of force.”

Waco, a 23-year veteran deputy public defender, had a client scheduled for a hearing in Mireles’ Van Nuys court one morning in November, 1989, but the client apparently was not on the bus from the jail and failed to show up.

That afternoon, while Waco was waiting in another judge’s courtroom, two policemen pulled him out and brought him to Mireles, saying they were acting on the judge’s orders.

Mireles later said he was joking but the officers apparently took him seriously. They dragged Waco backward out of the neighboring courtroom and down the courthouse corridor, then hurled him through the courtroom door, bruising his leg.

The incident prompted the entire public defender’s office to refuse for a time to try cases before Mireles--an action unprecedented in the office’s 75-year history. Public defenders had planned to file legal challenges--called affidavits of prejudice--to have Mireles removed from every case. Shortly after the boycott was announced, the Superior Court presiding judge declared that no public defender cases would be assigned to Mireles.

According to the state commission, the judge had shown exasperation at Waco’s absence and told the officers to bring “a piece of” or “a body part” of Waco to court. When the lawyer was forcibly delivered to the courtroom, the judge made no inquiries and appeared to ignore Waco’s attempt to discuss the officers’ actions, the commission said.

“This contributed to an appearance that Judge Mireles had authorized the officers’ use of force,” the commission said.

Waco filed a $440,000 federal civil rights suit against Mireles, the two police officers and the city of Los Angeles.

Mireles was removed from Waco’s suit by U. S. District Judge Terry Hatter, who noted that judges are immune from suits for actions taken in their judicial capacity. Hatter’s decision did not affect the rest of Waco’s suit.

But the appeals court said orders to use excessive force are not immune.

“If Judge Mireles requested and authorized the use of excessive force, then he would not be acting in his judicial capacity,” the court said, concluding that Waco should have a chance to prove his case. The unanimous ruling was issued by Judges Harry Pregerson, Melvin Brunetti and Thomas Nelson.

Waco has since been transferred to the San Fernando Courthouse and Mireles was transferred to the downtown Criminal Courts Building.

Waco’s attorney Carol Watson said the ruling should “send a message to judges not to exceed their authority.”

“There appears to be an attitude among some judicial officers, at least, that criminal defense lawyers are not entitled to the same share of dignity that they would give to business lawyers from large law firms,” Watson said.