Paventi to Retire in 1993 as Court Commissioner

Just a few days after the Ventura County Municipal Court judges extended his tenure one more year, Municipal Court Commissioner John V. Paventi announced plans to retire in November, 1993.

“The retirement that he announced coincides with his 50th birthday, which makes him eligible for retirement (benefits),” Presiding Municipal Court Judge Bruce A. Clark said. “He’s been in the public employee retirement system for about 25 years as a former probation officer and district attorney. He’s eligible to retire.”

Paventi could not be reached Friday for comment.

The judges probably will appoint a successor next summer, Clark said.

Paventi, who was a deputy district attorney from 1974 to 1988, has drawn strong criticism since the judges appointed him in 1988 to become the only judge to oversee traffic, misdemeanor and small claim matters in the East County Courthouse.

In May, Paventi ranked lowest of 26 judges reviewed in a poll of the Ventura County Bar Assn.

While Superior Court Judge Richard D. Aldrich received the highest overall rating--8.35 on a scale of 10--Paventi barely topped the .500 mark with a score of 5.l4. The judges were graded by Ventura County lawyers on demeanor, efficiency, settlement skills, knowledge of the law and integrity.

Paventi also has drawn fire from defense attorneys, most notably from the public defender’s office.

“We have made no secret of our unhappiness with the way that he operates,” said Assistant Public Defender Jean Farley, who oversees misdemeanor defense for her office.

Paventi’s decision to leave the East County Courthouse as of Nov. 1, 1993, came within days of Public Defender Kenneth Clayman’s decision to pull his office’s sole attorney and an assistant out of the satellite court due to budget shortages.

That leaves poor defendants in the east county with few options, Farley said. They can travel to the Ventura Courthouse to plead their cases, or plead guilty, she said.

Word that Paventi would remain on the bench one more year was “an extreme disappointment to me personally.”

Farley said she does not trust Paventi to inform defendants properly of their rights to a public defender or to treat them fairly.

Also, because of a huge workload that often has Paventi handling 90 cases per morning, he often makes mistakes or bullies defendants, she said.

“His judicial temperament is frightening when he gets stressed,” Farley said. “He takes people into custody because they can’t quickly enough tell him what their case is about, and he gives them ‘Door No. 1 or Door No. 2, plead guilty or not guilty,’ and if they can’t tell him . . . whammo , the person gets taken into custody.”

Attorney Russell Takasugi said he has heard complaints from fellow east county lawyers that Paventi is short on knowledge of civil law, and “the complaint that perhaps Paventi lacks the temperament to be a judge.”

“I’ve had a few clients who’ve contacted me complaining about erroneous civil rulings, that the ruling may not have followed the law,” said Takasugi, an officer of the East Ventura County Bar Assn.

“When I stand before him on my matters, he’s well-versed and knowledgeable, and I have no problems,” said Takasugi, the son of Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi. “I have not received any complaints as an officer or agent of the East County Bar.”

Roger Myers, president of the Ventura County Bar Assn., said, “He has a tremendous caseload, as do all Municipal Court judges, so he can’t be all sweet and peaches-like. I’ve always found him to be pretty businesslike and pretty direct.”