U.S. Judge in Unabomber Case Is Called Deliberate, in Control

The judge who will preside over the trial of Unabomber suspect Theodore J. Kaczynski is a former prosecutor and onetime Los Angeles high school track star--an African American who says he became a serious student after reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

While attorneys who know U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. say he does not have extensive experience in federal criminal law, they describe him as a meticulous jurist who will go to great lengths to avoid mistakes.

“He is very thoughtful and in control,” said Donald H. Heller, a defense attorney who has appeared before Burrell. “He will not be a Judge Ito. He will be in control of his courtroom.”

Others who know him say that after just four years on the federal bench, Burrell is sometimes slow to render decisions. “He is very concerned about making a good record,” said a local criminal attorney, who asked not to be identified. “Some might say he is thorough to a fault. Pleas take longer in his court than other courts. Certainly in a case of this magnitude, that is not a criticism.”

Burrell has presided over few notable cases. None has received the attention that is sure to accompany the Kaczynski trial.

The judge, 48, is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Sacramento, where he headed the office’s civil division. He also has worked in the Sacramento district attorney’s and city attorney’s offices.

Burrell was named to the federal bench four years ago by President George Bush after Gov. Pete Wilson nominated him while a U.S. senator. Burrell became the first black judge appointed in the state’s eastern district.

This year, Wilson urged the U.S. Justice Department to send Kaczynski to California to be tried in the state courts by Sacramento’s district attorney.

Wilson did not get his wish, but the man he nominated to the federal court bench will conduct the trial. On Tuesday, the governor said he was pleased that the grand jury had indicted Kaczynski in Sacramento. His spokesman, Sean Walsh, said Wilson would not comment on Burrell being named to preside over the trial.

Local attorneys generally praise Burrell for his fair, gentlemanly treatment of lawyers. His general demeanor, they say, stands in sharp contrast to some other federal judges, who seem to enjoy upbraiding attorneys who appear before them.

However, others say that he is capable of severe tongue lashings.

“He’s very deliberative,” said one attorney. “That is, he seems to have a very difficult time making decisions. In recent months, he has exhibited an increased irritability and temper. . . . It will be interesting to see how he deals with this [Unabomber] case.”

A friend who praises Burrell for his compassion also cited the judge’s cautious legal style. “I used to ask him for free legal advice,” the friend said. “Some lawyers would just wing it, but he’d always look it up and come back to you.”

Burrell declined to be interviewed. On his behalf, the district court Tuesday issued a bare-bones professional history.

In an interview with the Sacramento Bee four years ago, Burrell described growing up in a South-Central Los Angeles neighborhood marred by gang violence. He was a champion high hurdler in high school. After service in the Marine Corps, Burrell won a track scholarship to the University of Nevada, Reno.

He told a reporter that reading Malcolm X’s 1965 autobiography changed his life, turning him away from sports toward serious studies. “He educated himself in jail,” Burrell told his interviewer. “It struck me that if he could educate himself in jail, I certainly should be able to educate myself in school.”

After graduating from Cal State L.A. with a sociology degree, he went to St. Louis’ Washington University, where he earned a master’s degree in social work. In 1976, he graduated from California Western School of Law in San Diego.

Fresh out of school, he worked in the Sacramento district attorney’s office. He moved to the city attorney’s office before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney.

George O’Connell, who was U.S. attorney and Burrell’s boss, has high praise for the judge. “I think he will be meticulously fair in how he approaches the case. . . . He’s clearly had four years as a federal judge and has developed a knowledge of federal criminal procedure and the federal system.”

Added O’Connell, who is now a defense attorney: “I thought he was terrific. He’s very low-key. He’s very hard-working. Just a really nice, decent man.”

A few cases that Burrell has handled as a judge rise above the commonplace of the federal bench, where civil disputes and drug cases predominate.

Last year, Burrell rejected a claim that California’s Prison Industry Authority was covered by the federal minimum wage statutes. That meant that prisoner-workers were not entitled to $4.25 an hour for their labor, as lawyers representing them had claimed.

In a 1993 opinion, Burrell sided with a number of Indian tribes that sued the state to open their reservation casinos to new games of chance, including keno and electronic card games that had been barred by state statute.

Burrell also presided over a case that challenged the state’s issuance of IOUs to government workers during a 1992 budget standoff. Burrell ruled that the practice of issuing “registered warrants,” which were accepted by many banks and credit unions, violated federal labor law because the IOUs were not the equivalent of cash.

Last year, Burrell withdrew his earlier opinion. Attorneys to the dispute settled it this year--with Wilson agreeing to provide up to seven days of added vacation to workers who had been paid with IOUs.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Profile: U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.

Burrell will preside over the trial of Unabomber suspect Theodore J. Kaczynski.

* Age: 48

* Education: California Western School of Law, law degree; Washington University, master’s degree, social work; Cal State Los Angeles, bachelor’s degree, sociology.

* Career highlights: Appointed to federal bench by President George Bush, 1992. Assistant U.S. attorney, 1990-92. Also deputy positions in the Sacramento district attorney’s and city attorney’s offices.

* Family: Married, four children.

* Quote: From a friend commenting on Burrell’s reputation for being meticulous: “I used to ask him for free legal advice. Most lawyers would just wing it, but he’d always look it up and come back to you.”