No Way to Run a Courtroom

The California Supreme Court should heed the recommendation of a state judicial panel and publicly censure Orange County Municipal Judge Claude E. Whitney for the way he has run his courtroom. The Commission on Judicial Performance last week recommended the public censure, a rarely invoked punishment.

Three years ago the Orange County public defender’s office filed a 325-page complaint against Whitney, the first the office had issued since being founded in the 1960s. The judicial commission dismissed more than a dozen allegations against Whitney for lack of evidence, but it rightly considered those charges it upheld to be so serious as to bring the court into disrepute because of his “willful misconduct.” The panel found that Whitney refused to consider releasing misdemeanor case defendants after they promised to appear in court and often ignored notification of his legal errors.

The commission also found that the judge told public defenders it was against the law for them to talk to defendants in custody. When one defender asked the judge to tell defendants they had a right to a lawyer, he threw the attorney out of court.

In an unprecedented action, the Orange County Bar Assn. concluded that Whitney’s actions represented “systematic denial of due process” for defendants.

There is a premium on speed in Municipal Court arraignments; if there are delays, the overburdened judicial system can back up badly. But efficiency is no excuse for riding roughshod over defendants’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Whitney declined to challenge the commission’s recommendations. He was transferred from arraignment duties after the charges were made by public defenders, who say the system has since been reformed and improved. His lawyer said he acknowledged making mistakes and noted that the judge was reelected in 1994 despite the pending investigation.

Whitney might have lost the election, for good reason, had the commission acted sooner. Three years was too long for this investigation, and the Supreme Court should be more expeditious.