Lawyers Hold Court on Local Judges : Surveys: All Superior and Municipal Court officials evaluated by the county bar association rate satisfactory or above.

Ventura County’s Superior and Municipal Court judges were rated satisfactory or better in a survey of lawyers released Wednesday.

But in judging the judges, members of the Ventura County Bar Assn. ranked some much higher than others. And they gave a few of the 26 judges embarrassingly low marks in specific areas such as impartiality, demeanor and ability to achieve settlements.

On the Superior Court, Judge Richard D. Aldrich, a 1990 appointee of Gov. George Deukmejian, received the highest overall rating--8.35 on a scale of 10--while Judge Barbara A. Lane, a 1988 Deukmejian choice, was ranked lowest overall at 5.62.

Municipal Court judges were generally rated lower than their Superior Court counterparts. Judge Herbert Curtis III led the lower court with a score of 7.78, while Commissioner John V. Paventi barely topped the .500 mark with a rating of 5.14.

Bar association President J. Roger Myers said the poll showed that, “by and large, we have a very, very good set of judges.

“Nobody came out really bad,” Myers said. “I practice around the state . . . and let me tell you, I come back every time and thank my lucky stars I practice before the judges here.”

The presiding judge of the Superior Court, Steven Z. Perren, agreed that the 155 attorneys who took part in the survey “found that this bench does a very good job--and it does.”

Perren cautioned, however, that any poll of attorneys reflects only what they see in front of the bench.

“The important part of judging is the patience of a judge to review material in chambers, work long hours, do the kind of things that can’t be reflected in one of these surveys,” Perren said.

Judge Lane, he said, “is a terrific worker. . . . She never says no. She works long hours. It’s painful when you see someone work so hard, and then something like this comes along that will be viewed . . . as less than flattering.”

Perren, who ranked second among Superior Court judges with a rating of 8.21, said he believes that the poll “has some objective validity” but added: “To some degree, it’s a popularity contest.”

Bruce A. Clark, presiding judge of the Municipal Court, had an overall score of 5.68, third from the bottom among his colleagues on the lower court. He agreed that, in the bar poll, nice guys finished first.

“I guess I need a gene change to alter my demeanor,” Clark said. Some of the judges who were rated highly “are naturally outgoing and extroverted,” he said.

Clark also pointed out that only about 12% of the county’s 1,300 attorneys took part in the survey and that the results were weighted according to how well the attorney said he knew each judge.

He also noted that few deputy district attorneys or public defenders are members of the bar association.

As a consequence, only 30 attorneys contributed to the ranking for Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr., while 126 had a say in the ranking of Superior Court Judge Joe D. Hadden.

The poll has “very little value,” Clark said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow that’s different from what I do now.”

Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury agreed that the poll may not be completely scientific but said the judges should not dismiss it entirely.

“If I were the judges, I would look at it as an opportunity, a chance to work on some areas of improvement,” Bradbury said. “The results are not without some basis.”

Compared to other counties, he said, “We fare pretty well. . . . We’ve got a few really outstanding judges and several others that are pretty good. There’s only a few that probably don’t belong there.”

Bradbury commended the bar for conducting the poll, the first in at least a decade. “It showed some courage,” he said.

In completing the survey, the attorneys were asked to consider six categories and rank the judges from 1 to 10, with 1 being unsatisfactory, 5 satisfactory, and 10 outstanding. The categories were demeanor, settlement skills, efficiency, knowledge of the law, impartiality and integrity/courage.

Aldrich led the Superior Court judges in demeanor, efficiency, knowledge of the law and integrity/courage. He tied with Judge Lawrence Storch for first place in impartiality. First place for settlement skills went to Hadden, followed closely by Storch.

Lane was ranked last among her Superior Court colleagues in terms of demeanor and settlement skills. Judge William L. Peck was deemed the least impartial, Judge Bruce A. Thompson was judged the least efficient, and Judge Allan L. Steele ranked lowest in knowledge of the law and integrity/courage.

On the Municipal Court, Curtis ranked highest in demeanor, while John R. Smiley was given the highest marks for settlement skills, efficiency and knowledge of the law. Judge Ken W. Riley ranked highest in impartiality and integrity/courage.

Paventi was ranked lowest in most categories. As a commissioner, he works for the court under a contract that expires in October.

Among the regular judges on the lower court, Judge John J. Hunter ranked lowest in demeanor, settlement skills and impartiality. Judge John E. Dobroth was rated the least efficient and least knowledgeable of the law. Clark came in last in terms of integrity/courage.

Judicial Rankings

The Ventura County Bar Assn. rated 26 county Municipal and Superior Court judges on a scale of 1 to 10.

Superior Court

NAME RATING Richard D. Aldrich 8.35 Steven Z. Perren 8.21 Lawrence Storch 8.05 Melinda A. Johnson 7.84 Charles W. Campbell Jr. 7.80 Edwin M. Osborne 7.76 Joe D. Hadden 7.75 Robert C. Bradley 7.59 James M. McNally 7.48 Charles R. McGrath 7.17 Frederick A. Jones 6.98 Bruce A. Thompson 6.41 William L. Peck 6.40 Allan L. Steele 5.67 Barbara A. Lane 5.62

Municipal Court

NAME RATING Herbert Curtis III 7.78 John R. Smiley 7.69 Ken W. Riley 7.31 Barry B. Klopfer 7.26 Steven Hintz 6.70 Art Gutierrez 6.48 Thomas J. Hutchins 6.38 John E. Dobroth 5.89 Bruce A. Clark 5.68 John J. Hunter 5.41 John V. Paventi* 5.14

Note: Municipal Judge Roland N. Purnell, appointed in January, was not included in the survey.

* Paventi is Municipal Court commissioner.

Source: Ventura County Bar Assn.