Court Commissioner Is Dismissed by Judge

The presiding judge of the Glendale Municipal Court on Friday dismissed a veteran court commissioner, who was investigated after complaints that she jailed dozens of minor traffic offenders on suspicion of perjury because she doubted the validity of their auto insurance verifications.

Presiding Judge James Simpson refused to discuss the dismissal or declare whether it was related to the accusations against Commissioner Dona Bracke, 45, the first Glendale Court Commissioner removed in more than 20 years.

Bracke, who had been on paid administrative leave for three months, was unavailable for comment Friday.

Since November 1997, dozens of people who went to her courtroom to pay speeding tickets were slapped with felony perjury charges for allegedly lying about having car insurance, with the commissioner herself trying to establish by phone calls to the insurance companies whether the documents were valid, according to police records and attorneys involved.

Simpson’s statement said only that “Since the commissioner was placed on leave of absence in early September, the Court has engaged in a time-consuming review and appraisal. The court has reviewed assessments critical of the commissioner’s performance as well as other communications which support her and urge her retention.

“The decision is based on the Court’s conviction that the factors noted above would limit, for the foreseeable future, Commissioner Bracke’s effectiveness as a bench officer.”

The record of Bracke’s review is a confidential personnel document.

Members of the legal profession were mixed in their reaction.

“It was a good decision,” said Ted Fasteau, head deputy of the Pasadena branch of the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.

After listening to audio tapes of Bracke’s proceedings, Fasteau noted, “there was a lot of ex parte communications, abusing people in front of her, intimidating people when appearing in front of her.”

Fasteau and other lawyers have argued that Bracke’s phone calls constituted forbidden ex parte communication, in which judges directly receive unsworn testimony, denying defendants the opportunity to question the witness.

Police and lawyers say Bracke argued that defendants lied about having valid car insurance to avoid a newly enacted $1,350 fine for first-time offenders, according to court documents and police. Bracke has refused to discuss the issue with reporters.

In at least two instances, the information Bracke received from the insurance representative over the telephone was inaccurate, resulting in the jailing of two innocent people.

The dismissal “caught me by surprise,” said Lonnie Felker, deputy district attorney in charge of the Glendale office.

“I felt most of the cases coming from her courtroom were appropriate. A great percentage of cases coming out of her court, there was not only reasonable cause, but evidence that suggests we could attain a conviction for the crime. That would include the perjury charges.”

News of her removal pleased Varooj Abramian, one of the two innocent people arrested and sent to jail on suspicion of perjury.

“I’m not happy that she lost her job,” Abramian said after hearing the news Friday, “but I’m happy that no one else like me is going to be punished for no reason.”

Abramian, 55, of Burbank, was held in jail for three days and fined after Commissioner Bracke convicted him of not having valid car insurance late last year.

The wait for vindication “was worth it,” he said. “Now it’s clear that it wasn’t my fault, that I didn’t lie.”