Achieving Balance on the Bench

Ventura County has lost a good judge with the retirement of Charles McGrath. The question now becomes, who will serve the remaining 5 1/2 years of his term?

McGrath’s replacement will not be decided by the voters, but will be chosen by Gov. Pete Wilson. The governor should select a person with a strong civil, and preferably family law, background.

For many reasons, Wilson and Gov. George Deukmejian before him have appointed a high percentage of prosecutors to the Ventura County bench. As a result, 21 of the 27 superior and municipal court judges formerly worked as district attorneys. Two-thirds of the Superior Court bench are former prosecutors.

The public is led to believe that to have a bench filled with former prosecutors means that Ventura County has judges who are “tough on crime.” Therefore, the more ex-D.A.s on the bench, the better.

The flaw in this “logic” is that a prosecutor-turned-judge can go for years without ever presiding over a criminal court. Although judges of the Superior Court do indeed preside over criminal cases, they also preside over civil cases, juvenile dependency cases, probate cases, and family law cases--areas in which the majority of people come in contact with the legal system.

Because most of our judges would prefer not to sit in family court, it is often the newest bench officer who is assigned to the family law department. That person has little, if any, knowledge of the law applicable to the cases he or she will be hearing.

As important, never having handled family law cases as an attorney, the judge has little, if any, experience with the emotional aspects that are an intricate part of the process.

To effectively handle a family law issue, a judge needs to have developed insight that comes only from years of seasoning. Without that background, the new judge must undergo on-the-job training in an area where the issues affect the very core of people’s lives.

Being tough on crime does not help a jurist in a trial concerning the custody of a child.

The key here is balance. The bench should be made up of people from various backgrounds so as to bring a diversity of experience to the people of Ventura County. That way, justice will be just as likely in a family law court as it is in a criminal court.