Attorney Considering Bid to Unseat Arrested Judge

Wounded by two recent drunk-driving arrests, Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley finds himself vulnerable to an electoral challenge, with a top defense attorney saying Tuesday he will probably run against the veteran jurist if he seeks reelection this spring.

Bradley, 56, a judge since 1983, was arrested twice in the last month on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Apologetic, the judge returned to work Monday just 36 hours after his most recent arrest, pledging to work through his problems.

But Gary Windom, 47, who tries high-profile cases for the public defender’s office, said he will probably run against Bradley because allowing the judge to stay on the bench fosters distrust of the courts--and suggests there is a double standard of conduct for judges.

“I think his ability is impaired, and I think the public will look at it the same way,” Windom said. “And they will distrust anything that comes from the bench as a result of it.

“I personally think he is capable, one of our best judges,” Windom added. “But I also think the perception of our judiciary would be impaired if he was to remain. That’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s reality.”

Bradley refused requests for interviews Tuesday.

Challenges to sitting judges are rare in Ventura County, where an incumbent jurist has not been unseated for 20 years.

“Normally voters don’t even know when judges run, because they don’t even appear on the ballot if nobody runs against them,” said county elections chief Bruce Bradley, who is not related to the judge. “It’s only when there’s an open seat that we have a race for judge.”

But Bradley’s notoriety has drawn criticism from anti-drunk-driving activists and a few attorneys who say the judge mishandled cases.

Local attorneys said Tuesday they were not surprised someone would take on the judge, given his problems. The only surprise, they said, is that someone as prominent as Windom would consider doing so.

“I would find it hard to believe that any member of the bench or of the D.A.’s office or another attorney who regularly appears before Judge Bradley would take this step,” said David Shain, former president of the county bar association. “He is held in high esteem. And the sense among people I talk to is that he’s working on his problem and he ought not to be kicked while he’s down.”

Windom said he realizes he may be seen as someone taking advantage of a tragic situation.

“But I wouldn’t hesitate, because I’m a qualified person and I think the bench needs diversity--not only ethnic but also more defense attorneys,” said Windom, a 23-year lawyer and one of a handful of black lawyers in Ventura County.

After he was first arrested Dec. 6, Bradley checked himself into a residential drug-treatment hospital, friends say. And he has received strong support from local attorneys and judges, who say he is fair, intelligent, highly competent and a gentleman in court.

“Frankly, I hope Judge Bradley maintains his sobriety and continues on,” said Louis Samonsky, a defense attorney who once worked with Bradley in the district attorney’s office. “He served the public well as a captain in Vietnam, as a prosecutor and now a judge. He’s earned the trust of the public. And I don’t see a reason to remove him.”

But Bradley--arrested Dec. 6 and Saturday night--is under attack by the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Chapter President Linda Oxenreider said her Ventura office has been barraged with hundreds of phone calls from people outraged that Bradley was able to return to the bench so quickly--the Monday following his weekend arrest, and just days after he left a residential treatment program.

“I can’t tell you how many irate citizens called to say, ‘How can he break the law, then sit on the bench and put forward sentences?’ ” Oxenreider said.

Although MADD does not take positions in political races, “personally, I would probably vote for someone other than Robert Bradley,” she said. “And I think some of these callers might want to start some kind of campaign to make sure he doesn’t get reelected.”

If Bradley is opposed in the June election, it would be only the second time since 1982 that an incumbent judge has been challenged. Six years ago, Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell won a landslide victory over Westlake attorney Lee Hess.

And not since 1978 has a sitting judge been defeated when seeking another six-year term. That year, Charles McGrath, now a Superior Court judge, defeated incumbent Bruce Thompson, and Frederick Jones, also now on the Superior Court, defeated John Childers for a Municipal Court seat.

This year, nine judgeships are up for grabs and will be on the June 2 ballot if contested. Candidates must declare their intentions by Feb. 4 to qualify to run for the position, which pays $107,390 a year. Bradley is one of those expected to run for a new six-year term.

“The main question is, ‘Will he run?’ ” said Bruce Bradley, the county elections chief. “He came out of the D.A.’s office, so I don’t think the judicial establishment will go against him.”

Windom acknowledged that it would probably cost $100,000 to run a competitive campaign and that he would need endorsements from Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury or local police agencies to win.

He lost a 1992 race for a Municipal Court judgeship against then-Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Brodie.

REACTION TO ARRESTS: Some observers say Bradley should step down, at least temporarily. B6