Judge to Remain on Criminal Cases

Despite protests from lawyers in the Ventura County public defenders office, court officials said Friday that they have no immediate plans to remove Superior Court Judge Vincent J. O’Neill Jr. from hearing criminal cases.

“If there comes a time when Judge O’Neill doesn’t have anything to do, then we’ll take some form of action,” said presiding Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley, who assigns courtrooms to judges.

But if recent history is any indication, O’Neill faces the possibility of being reassigned to civil cases if the public defenders successfully continue their protest.

Public defenders succeeded in removing Superior Court Judge James P. Cloninger from hearing criminal matters after staging a similar protest last year. Cloninger now hears family law cases.

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury was the first to use a lawyer’s right to remove a judge from a case when he ordered his prosecutors to disqualify Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch from hearing cases three years ago.

Bradbury accused Storch of being too lenient. Storch has been hearing civil and juvenile court matters since, although court officials said that was planned prior to Bradbury’s challenge.

County public defenders, who handle about 60% of the county’s criminal cases, have begun asking for a new judge every time they appear before O’Neill. They claim he is too harsh with his sentences and biased in favor of prosecutors.

Further, the defense attorneys claim that a conflict of interest exists because O’Neill’s wife is head of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Victim Services Division.

O’Neill said judicial rules of conduct prevented him from talking about the public defenders’ protest. But Assistant Dist. Atty. Kevin McGee came to the judge’s defense.

“We are surprised by this action,” McGee said. “Judge O’Neill is a bright and rising star. Their allegations have no basis.”

McGee said that Deborah O’Neill’s position in the office does not present a conflict of interest in Judge O’Neill’s courtroom.

“She is not involved in any courtroom activity,” McGee said.

Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman said that while he did not order his attorneys to disqualify O’Neill, he understands their concerns.

“It appears to be a conflict,” Clayman said.

Other defense attorneys said they, too, are concerned with O’Neill.

“Even though a judge may feel he is unaffected by his spouse’s position, the appearance is still there,” said defense attorney Tim Quinn. The mere appearance, Quinn and Clayman said, should be enough for O’Neill to remove himself from the criminal bench.

Gov. Pete Wilson appointed O’Neill, 43, to the Superior Court last year. Wilson appointed O’Neill to the Municipal Court in 1992 after the longtime prosecutor served as Ventura County chief deputy district attorney for eight years.