Judge Gets Jail, Probation on Drunk-Driving Guilty Pleas

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail and five years’ probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor drunk-driving charges.

“He wanted to take responsibility for his actions, and he accepted the consequences,” said Bradley’s attorney, George Eskin, who entered the plea for the jurist.

After more than 45 minutes in chambers with attorneys, Santa Barbara Municipal Judge Denise de Bellefuille sentenced Bradley to a month in any California penal institution and ordered him to pay a $1,515 fine. Bradley was also ordered to abstain from alcohol for five years and have no contact with Deputy Dist. Atty. Miles Wise.

Eskin would not comment on why Bradley was ordered to stay away from Wise, and Wise did not return phone calls Tuesday.

Wise’s supervisor, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Janes, said, “This is a personal matter and does not involve this office.”

Bradley, 56, is in a treatment hospital on paid disability leave and did not appear at the arraignment in Santa Barbara.

“‘I think he’s doing all right,” Eskin said. “I hope he’s doing all right.”

Bradley, a judge for 15 years, spent a month at a rehabilitation hospital after his Dec. 6 arrest. He reentered a full-time treatment program Jan. 13 after a second drunk-driving arrest and an incident when he showed up for work apparently intoxicated.

Bradley apologized to fellow judges for his conduct, citing personal problems. He did not elaborate, but friends said the judge had been struggling with marital problems and the death of his mother last fall.

Eskin had said before Tuesday’s arraignment that he hoped Bradley’s time in a treatment facility would count toward his sentence, but after entering the plea Eskin said Bradley was ready to spend time in jail.

Bradley will most likely serve his sentence in a city jail in Los Angeles County, Eskin said.

Bradley wanted no special treatment, according to Eskin.

“His instructions to me were to accept whatever they required and conclude the case as soon as possible,” Eskin said.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Allison Ting, who prosecuted the case, would not comment on Tuesday’s hearing. The state attorney general’s office handled the prosecution because Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury declared a conflict of interest. Likewise, the case was moved to Santa Barbara so that Bradley’s fellow judges would not have to decide his fate.

The sentence was about what Bradley had expected, Eskin said.

State law requires that a convicted drunk driver spend 48 hours to several months in jail. The conviction brings at least 30 days in jail, officials said.

Bradley was arrested for drunk driving Dec. 6 and Jan. 3. Both times his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%. The first time he was arrested it measured from 0.21% to 0.23%, and on the second occasion it measured 0.27%, authorities said.

In addition to his jail time and fine, Bradley will be driving on a suspended license for 18 months, which allows him to drive only to and from work, and a court-approved treatment center.

Also, his car must be equipped with a so-called “interlock device.” The device, used by the courts since 1993, requires the driver to blow into a mouth piece that tests whether he or she has been drinking. If alcohol is detected by the device, the car will not start. The device also records the data so they can be reviewed by a probation officer.

Bradley has not filed for reelection for his term, which expires the end of this year.

Staff writer Miguel Bustillo contributed to this report.