Judge’s Foe Makes Case Outside His Court : Politics: Caryl Lee is joined by a couple who accuse Dan Dutcher of being lenient in hit-and-run drunk driving case.

A few paces away from where Municipal Judge Dan C. Dutcher dispenses justice, his opponent in the November runoff election staged a bit of political theater on Thursday with a couple who said they were wronged by the judge and his politics.

Prosecutor Caryl Lee, who is running against Dutcher, held a news conference to blast the judge for being soft on crime and accuse him of mishandling the case of a hit-and-run drunk driver who killed 13-year-old Jeff Martinez last August.

Joining Lee outside the main entrance of the Westminster Municipal Court where Dutcher is seated, were Ed and Gail Martinez, the boy’s parents. The couple joined the campaign to defeat Dutcher out of anger with the judge’s two-year sentence for the convicted drunk driver, a repeat offender who killed their son.

The news conference is the latest twist in a highly unusual political battle for the judicial post Dutcher has held for a dozen years. Just last month, Dutcher filed a lawsuit against Lee, alleging her campaign produced a libelous mailer that cost him victory in the June 7 primary.

Once the Lee news conference ended Thursday, Dutcher emerged from the courthouse with his attorney to respond point by point to the charges made by Lee and the Martinezes.

“None of us is soft on crime,” Dutcher said, calling Lee’s characterization of him “mindless rhetoric.”

While planning to run with the support of fellow Orange County judges, Dutcher said his campaign was forced into the position of “refuting smear tactics.” He said he filed the lawsuit against his opponent because he wanted the truth of his record to come out.

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“They picked one case in 12 years that I handled and they smeared me on that one case,” the judge said.

As they stood before a bank of television cameras, the Lee campaign criticized the judge on two fronts. The Martinezes--already grieving over the loss of their son--contended they are now being victimized by the judge, who is angry that the couple has gone public with their complaint against him. Lee and the parents also portrayed Dutcher as being soft on crime, as evidenced by his handling of the Martinez case.

“We’re not here today just because justice wasn’t served in Dutcher’s court,” Ed Martinez said in a prepared statement. “We’re here today because Dutcher can’t even leave us alone in our grief--he has to keep hurting us.”

He was referring to the lawsuit filed last month by Dutcher against the Lee campaign. In the initial filing, the Martinezes were included as defendants in the lawsuit--a move Dutcher said was done in error. The couple was quickly removed from the case.

“I have been sued for bringing information to light that is contained within the public record and is all true,” Lee said during the news conference. “I won’t be intimidated by bringing things to light that I think should be brought to light. . . . I believe he’s too soft on crime.”

Seeking to turn the attention toward his opponent, Dutcher said Lee had a poor courtroom conviction record as a prosecutor, stating that she had lost the only two trials she had prosecuted in court.

“That’s not true,” Lee later responded. “My trial record is not relevant and is not why we are here today.”

Dutcher agreed with Lee on one point: “I think (the Martinezes) have suffered enough, to tell you the truth,” he told reporters.

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The judicial race heated up in the final days before the June 7 primary when Lee circulated a brochure that included a letter signed by the Martinezes. The letter listed the numerous mistakes they felt were committed by the “lenient” judicial system in the handling of Matthew Wilbur, a repeat drunk driver who struck and killed Jeff Martinez just a few blocks from his Westminster home.

One of the key statements in the brochure--which is the basis of Dutcher’s lawsuit--is a claim by the couple that Dutcher “sentenced this repeat drunk driver to one year of actual jail time,” even though he sentenced Wilbur to two years in prison.

In the June 7 election, Lee received 38.1% of the vote and Dutcher received 38%, forcing a November runoff.

Dutcher said he filed the lawsuit in the hope that the brochure would not be used again before the November election. But on Thursday, neither Lee nor the Martinezes ruled out future use of the brochure--which criticizes the judge--claiming it was not inaccurate since Wilbur will serve about 14 months behind bars.

The Martinezes also said they will seek state legislation that would make it easier to expose a judge’s sentencing record.