Judge Says His Career May Be Over

Admitting his drinking problem is destroying his life, Judge Robert C. Bradley said Tuesday he knows his judicial career is probably over and that he may never be able to practice law again.

Even worse, because of a restraining order his wife obtained against him, he knows he won’t be able to see his children for a long time--and that is what hurts him the most, Bradley said in an interview with The Times at the Ventura halfway house where he now lives.

“I’m devastated,” said Bradley, 57. Visiting his three daughters, he said, “was the one thing I really had going for me. That is completely out of the question at this point.”

The embattled jurist--who has been temporarily suspended after two drunk-driving arrests this winter--got in trouble again this weekend after he began drinking Friday night and took a $55 cab ride to the Ojai home where he once lived with his wife, Dorothea, and their children.

He was arrested early Saturday for allegedly violating his probation by drinking alcohol. He was arrested a second time later Saturday, accused of violating a restraining order by calling his wife after posting bail.

After four days in custody, Bradley was released from the Ventura County Jail on a $110,000 bond Tuesday afternoon. He was scheduled to be arraigned, but the court hearing was postponed after Bradley posted bail.

He left the jail in shorts and a striped shirt to find a group of reporters waiting to interview him. Bradley ran through the parking lot to escape their questions, but eventually stopped for an impromptu news conference.

“I’m obviously disappointed in myself,” he said. “I’m just going to try the best I can to get better.

“To say I haven’t handled this well is the understatement of the century,” he added.

He then walked alone to a bus stop near the courthouse to catch a ride back to his halfway house.

About an hour later, Bradley sat in the living room of that Ventura facility and talked at length about his recent arrest, his struggles with sobriety and his hope that he can turn his life around.

“I do feel differently this time,” he said. “It’s destroying my life, and a lot of people would say it has destroyed my life. It certainly has destroyed my career.”

After 13 years on the Superior Court bench, Bradley was relieved of his duties in January after the two drunk-driving arrests and an incident in which he allegedly showed up at work intoxicated.

The judge served 20 days in jail and was placed on probation after pleading guilty to the drunk-driving charges. A month later the state Commission on Judicial Performance temporarily suspended him.

Despite counseling through Alcoholics Anonymous and formal treatment at two alcohol-rehabilitation centers, the judge says he has been unable to stay sober. But he has not given up the fight.

“My No. 1 priority is not to drink alcohol--ever,” he said. “I’m somewhat hopeful, but I have a huge mountain to climb.”

While not blaming his wife, Bradley attributed his relapses to ongoing marital problems. Although the couple separated more than a year ago, Bradley said he has struggled to accept the fact that the marriage was disintegrating. He and Dorothea were married 17 years ago this week.

It was an issue with his wife that precipitated his drinking Friday night and into Saturday morning, Bradley said.

Feeling lonely and homesick, he said he left the halfway house and walked to a liquor store. He drank vodka and took a taxi to Ojai, a fare of $55, he said.

The cab driver dropped him off down the street from his family’s home at about 2 a.m. Saturday, Bradley said. He then slipped the screen off a downstairs window and climbed through, setting off an alarm in the process, he said.

His wife and 12-year-old daughter told him what he had done was wrong, he said. But he pushed forward and asked them if he could stay.

“All I wanted to do was sleep there,” he said. “I wanted to be at my house. I’m homesick. I really miss my home and my children. I miss my wife too.”

At some point, he said, his wife called the police. Ventura County sheriff’s deputies arrested him at about 3:30 a.m. on suspicion of violating the terms of his probation, which specify that he not drink alcohol.

At the time of his arrest, Bradley said he signed a temporary restraining order that forbids him from contacting his wife. As a former family law judge, Bradley had issued dozens of such documents.

But while trying to bail out of jail in Ventura, Bradley said he inadvertently violated the order by calling his wife to help him get out of custody.

“They said, ‘Well, you can call someone,’ ” Bradley recalled. “I did what just came to mind: I called my wife to ask if she could release the money to get me out of jail. But I didn’t know who else to call.”

Later that day, from the halfway house Bradley called several family members and friends, including his wife.

“I just wanted to apologize,” he said. “And when she got the message, she called the sheriff.”

Reached at work Tuesday afternoon, Dorothea Bradley, a court reporter, declined to discuss her husband’s version of Saturday’s events.

“I think I’ll wait and just read yet another article in the paper,” she said. “I’d rather not comment.”

The judge said he is most upset because the restraining order could keep him from seeing his three daughters for an extended period, since the order prevents him from having contact with his wife.

For his part, Bradley said he plans to continue attending AA meetings. With his driver’s license suspended for a year as a result of the two drunk-driving convictions, the judge has to ride a bicycle or bus.

“In some ways, it’s kind of a humbling experience,” he said.

Asked about his career plans and the pending investigation by the state judicial commission, Bradley said he has accepted that he may never again practice law.

“Do I feel I’ll ever be judging again at this point?” he asked. “Probably not.”

But Bradley said he would like to stay in the legal profession if possible, acknowledging that would be difficult given his past actions.

Experts say the judicial commission could be particularly unforgiving of Bradley’s most recent conduct, which amounted to violating court orders.

Bradley said he has not given any thought to what career path he would pursue if stripped of his license to practice law.

Bradley faces two court hearings--May 22 and May 29--as a result of his most recent arrests. He said he does not have an attorney yet.

During his earlier statements to reporters, Bradley said he was disappointed by the high bail amount--$110,000--and told reporters he had made arrangements with a bondsman to get released.

Bradley told reporters that he continues to receive support from his family and friends.

“It has been a difficult experience, to put it mildly,” he said. “I just think my future conduct is going to be the deciding factor here.”

Times photographer Spencer Weiner contributed to this story.