A Precedent in O.C. Judicial Leadership

Kathleen E. O’Leary is the first woman to serve as presiding judge of Orange County Superior Court, but don’t expect her to trumpet her ascension to the court’s top administrative post as a groundbreaking achievement.

“I grew up in a real gender-neutral house,” explained O’Leary, who began her new job Thursday. “You didn’t do things because you were male or female; you did things because you either had the ability or didn’t have the ability.”

O’Leary has shepherded many of the county’s high-profile murder trials through the system since being appointed to the Superior Court in 1986. They include the case of Thomas Maniscalco, who had the longest criminal trial in Orange County history, and the trial of several teenagers convicted of killing Fullerton honor student Stuart Tay.

Presiding judge is no figurehead position. As a full-time court administrator, O’Leary will oversee the case flow for 79 judges and commissioners, manage a budget in excess of $75 million and represent the court on various statewide judicial committees. The demanding job requires she give up trial work, which she enjoys.

“In a perfect world, I’d like to be able to do both,” said the 46-year-old judge, who was busy settling into her new office last week. “But I think court administration has become so complicated and time-consuming, you just can’t do justice to both.”

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O’Leary replaces Theodore E. Millard as presiding judge. He considers his successor, who recently served as assistant presiding judge, a “consensus builder” who is well trained for the job.

Millard and O’Leary worked together during a bitter, six-month legal fight with the Orange County Board of Supervisors over court funding. The legal drama resulted in an unprecedented lawsuit filed by the courts, which was recently settled.

The breakthrough came when the Legislature passed a law shifting some of the responsibility for court funding to the state and away from the county, but issues remain over funding for courthouse improvements and newly created marshal and administrative positions.

The judges maintained that the county had not allotted enough money for basic court operations. O’Leary believes there was a lack of understanding on the part of supervisors regarding what is needed financially and what is required legally to keep the courthouse running.

“I just think it’s very difficult for people outside the judicial branch to evaluate our needs,” said O’Leary, who can expect to deal with the issue again during her tenure.

As a judge, O’Leary has made a name for herself by insisting on decorum in the courtroom. Because many of her trials have attracted heavy media attention, this has not always been easy and has led to run-ins with the media.

One trial that spawned a media frenzy in the Chinese community here and abroad was the trial of Lisa Peng, a Taiwanese national convicted of killing her rich husband’s mistress and their infant son.

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At one point, reporters were ejected from the courtroom when O’Leary heard the whir of a camera after having banned picture taking because of an earlier incident: One of the dozens of journalists covering the case for the Chinese-language press tried to talk to a juror during the trial.

“My focus is, ‘This can’t become a circus,’ ” O’Leary said. “This isn’t a theatrical production. Trials aren’t meant for entertainment purposes. Courtrooms have to run by the rules.”

O’Leary is a former public defender who has steadily worked her way through the ranks of the administration of a courthouse that has historically had few female judges.

She is one of eight women on the bench. While she might not think so, her election by her peers to the court’s top job is seen as a milestone.

“She’s opened the door for other women,” said Sandra Steele, president-elect of the Orange County Women Lawyers Assn.

O’Leary allows that there is some significance “because I suppose it’s a real vivid way to demonstrate to the public that we in the judicial branch are gender-neutral in terms of our leadership. But in terms of whether I’ll do the job any differently, I suspect I won’t.”

She came to the municipal bench in 1981 after a career as a public defender, which she said made her an attractive candidate for a judicial appointment by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.

While it is rare for a public defender to become a judge, O’Leary believes that her particular legal background as well as being the daughter of a police officer has helped balance her perspective as a judge.

“I went from law enforcement to seeing things from the defense side,” O’Leary said. “I think it sort of helped me get right back in the middle.”

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Many attorneys, both prosecutors and defense lawyers, praise her abilities.

“I think she tries to be fair in all respects,” said Marshall Schulman, who appeared before O’Leary as a defense attorney in the Tay and Peng cases.

Deputy Public Defender Leonard Gumlia has taken three cases to trial in O’Leary’s courtroom, the most recent being the death penalty trial of Eric Wayne Bennett, convicted and condemned to die for the 1994 rape and bludgeoning death of Marie Evans Powell.

Gumlia said O’Leary’s experience as a trial lawyer helps her move cases along faster.

“She can anticipate why a question is relevant because she sees where you’re going,” Gumlia said. “She understands better what you are trying to do as a lawyer than most judges I’ve appeared in front of.”

It was the Maniscalco case, which spanned 10 years--five with O’Leary as judge--that tested O’Leary’s mettle the most. The biker gang founder was convicted in 1994 of plotting the murders of three people. The conviction followed a marathon legal drama plagued by countless legal maneuverings, delays and freak mishaps.

O’Leary declared a mistrial in 1990 when a jury deadlocked after 26 days of deliberations, a state record. A second jury convicted Maniscalco after 24 days of deliberations.

“I can’t imagine any case challenging me as much as that one did both in terms of management and in terms of legal issues,” O’Leary said.

Among the unusual aspects of the case: More than 200 defense motions were filed during pretrial proceedings, and, between trials, a separate jury had to find Maniscalco competent to stand trial when the defense claimed his lengthy jail stay had impaired his mental condition.

“There were also extraordinary legal issues for which there was no precedent,” O’Leary said. “You really were making decisions on your own.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick King was the prosecutor in the Maniscalco case, which he refers to as “a nightmare for the criminal justice system.” He said O’Leary was decisive and displayed other characteristics required to bring the case to a conclusion.

“She should get into the judicial hall of fame for that case and that case alone,” King said.

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Sentencing Bennett to the death penalty a year ago also proved challenging.

“It was difficult for me,” O’Leary admitted. “I think it’s difficult for any human being to look at another human being and say, ‘I think death is appropriate’ and to actually order that person’s death. It’s a real personal experience.

“From time to time in your career, the human impact, it just hits you like a ton of bricks,” she added. “Every once in a while, you’re just sort of in awe of the human impact.”

* FORMER CHIEF: Judge Theodore E. Millard grappled with thorny issues during his tenure. A11