Judge Works to Keep Kids Out of Trouble

Their names and faces were interchangeable. The countless young people Tim Murphy defended in Los Angeles juvenile and superior courts for 15 years always faced the same charges: burglary, robbery, vandalism, drugs, even murder. Some of the offenders were sentenced to probation, some went to prison, most returned to court. They all faced uncertain futures.

The saving grace for many of the young offenders was Clay Hollopeter, the executive director of the San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Club.

Murphy often watched in awe as the community activist spoke on behalf of youths he believed could be turned around. Hollopeter eventually brought Murphy, then a public defender, to the San Gabriel youth club, where Murphy first became aware of a way to help street kids headed for trouble.

“Clay left a fingerprint on my life,” Murphy, 45, said. “I liked what was going on there. It changed my life.”

Little did he know then that the experience would help change numerous other lives as well.

Murphy, a Superior Court commissioner for Los Angeles County for the past five years, was well into his term as a Burbank city councilman in 1990 when he and a group of other civic leaders took a hard look at the city’s growing number of juvenile crime cases.

Seeking a safe after-school haven for Burbank’s at-risk youths, Murphy and his fellow task-force members took the first steps to establish a recreation center in the northeast end of the city, where the need was deemed greatest.

After three years of fund-raising, the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank--housed in a converted fire station--opened its doors on Sept. 9, 1995. Each year, the club serves about 600 youths.

“Tim’s heart and soul has been in this organization from the beginning,” said Alex Fey, the club’s executive director. “He made this happen so that he could help prevent kids from getting into trouble and standing before him in court.”

Murphy, a Burbank activist as long as he can remember, practically bounced into the club on a recent afternoon, clad in running shorts and a T-shirt, his judge’s robes nowhere in sight.

Murphy, whose three children belong to the club, showed off the arts-and-crafts room, which was bustling with children of all ages. Next stop was the learning center, where five youths sat in front of computer terminals, while another group busied themselves with puzzles and books at nearby tables.

The Boys & Girls Club serves about 75 children a day during the school year and about 100 a day during the summer. The club has an athletic director and a game room with table tennis and pool, and offers cooking classes and a variety of field trips, all for a nominal membership fee. No child is turned away for financial reasons.

A recipient of the Burbank, North Hollywood and Toluca Lake 1997 Angel of the Year Award for his volunteer efforts, Murphy recently signed up to tutor fifth-graders at a local literacy program.

“Our society has changed dramatically from the time I was a kid, when families primarily lived together,” said Murphy, still an active Boys & Girls Club board member. “It really does take a village to raise kids today. We need to instill in children a sense of independence so they can succeed. That’s what I hope we’re doing here.”

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