Ronald Butler, Much Respected Public Defender, Dies of Cancer

Ronald Y. Butler, who headed the Orange County public defender’s office for 16 years and earned the respect of the county’s legal community during his three decades as a defense attorney, died early Friday of cancer. He was 63.

Butler served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy, then practiced civil litigation before becoming a deputy public defender in Orange County in 1968. He soon became one of the top trial lawyers in an office responsible for defending people who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

Colleagues said the cornerstone of Butler’s leadership was making sure that defendants’ rights were never ignored, regardless of their alleged misdeeds. Butler’s courtroom skills also led to several triumphs in a profession where defense attorneys often find themselves on the losing end.

One of Butler’s biggest courtroom victories involved the case of Edward Charles Allaway. Butler convinced a judge to find the janitor not guilty by reason of insanity for killing seven people during a 1976 rampage at Cal State Fullerton. Allaway remains in a psychiatric hospital.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors appointed Butler to head the public defender’s office in 1981. But he temporarily returned to the courtroom in 1989 for the case of David Lee Schoenecker, 48, of Anaheim, who was accused of murdering his wife. Spared the death penalty, Schoenecker received a sentence of life without parole.

It is a testament to Butler’s integrity and skills that he also won the respect of his legal opponents, those who knew him said.

“I’ve known Ron for 26 years, and I have always admired him for his honesty and integrity and for his leadership skills in the public defenders’ office,” Orange County Assistant Dist. Atty. Maurice Evans said. “I am very, very sad that he passed away at such a young age.”

Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kathleen E. O’Leary praised Butler, saying he “will be a legend” because of his superior trial skills and appreciation of the law.

“He really appreciated and saw, more than most, the humanity in the law,” O’Leary said. “To him, the law wasn’t just words in the book. The application of law and how it affected human beings is what was important to him.”

Butler stepped down from his post in 1997, when he was diagnosed with throat and jaw cancer. He officially retired last March and a retirement party held for him at the Disney Pacific Hotel in Anaheim was attended by more than 500 people, including 50 judges.

Carl C. Holmes, who succeeded Butler as head of the office, described his skills during the cross-examination of witnesses as “almost surgical,” and said his integrity provided a model for those who worked for him.

“He strongly believed in the public defenders’ need to protect the Constitution and he set that tone in this office,” said Holmes, who worked beside his close friend and colleague for almost 30 years, serving as Butler’s chief deputy for 15 years. “He encouraged the deputies to test the law, particularly when the Constitution was in danger.”

Senior Deputy Public Defender Alan Crivaro also called Butler an “outstanding mentor” who strongly believed there could not be justice without competent defense counsel.

“He is one person who loved the law and loved what he did for a living,” Crivaro said. “He knew that the role of the public defender served a vital function for the public at large, and for the individuals that we represent.”

Butler loved the courtroom arena.

“He really personified a trial lawyer,” O’Leary said. “He was very at home in the courtroom, he loved cross-examining witnesses and he loved arguing his case to a jury. I think he found the whole dynamics of a trial to be really fascinating. I think those were probably some of his happiest days, in court, talking to juries.”

Deputy Public Defender Carol Lavacot, training coordinator for the office, was co-counsel with Butler on the Schoenecker case and tearfully remembered her former boss on Friday.

“We’re devastated,” Lavacot said. “We expected it, but when it really is happening, it’s hard. When Ron had this cancer and started with the chemotherapy and was losing his hair and was thin and frail, he came to work every day with a smile on his face. He never complained.”

Lavacot said that in May, on the night that the Orange County Bar Assn. presented Butler with its highest honor for his legal accomplishments, he whispered in her ear that his cancer had returned.

“I started to cry and he said, ‘Carol, don’t feel sad for me. I’ve had a wonderful life.’ Even then he was trying to make me feel better.”

Inside the offices of the public defender tears flowed openly throughout the day.

Said Holmes: “There are over 400 people here who miss him very much. He was a real dear man.”

Butler is survived by his wife, Tracy Butler, a son, three daughters and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. on Jan. 8 in Department 1 of the Orange County Superior Court.