Maxine Thomas, 50; Was Chief Judge of L.A. Municipal Court

Former Judge Maxine Thomas, whose meteoric rise and stormy tenure on the Los Angeles Municipal Court ended a decade ago when she was ousted as presiding judge by colleagues, died Friday of a ruptured aneurysm of the brain. She was 50.

Thomas suffered a mild stroke Jan. 10 and was taken to Midway Hospital Medical Center in the Mid-Wilshire district, where doctors discovered the aneurysm, said Geraldine Green, a Los Angeles lawyer and longtime friend of Thomas.

“I am devastated by her untimely death,” Green added, saying Thomas underwent surgery to repair the aneurysm last Sunday but had to be placed on life support afterward and was declared brain-dead Wednesday. She was removed from life support Friday night and died. Hospital officials declined to comment on the surgery.

Born and raised in South-Central Los Angeles, Thomas graduated from the University of Iowa Law School and was hired as a corporate attorney for Arco.

The young lawyer quickly became a much-admired rising star in town, with backers who included then-Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and then-Los Angeles Councilman Gilbert Lindsay.

She was appointed to the Municipal Court bench in 1980, at age 32, by then-Gov. Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr.

When her colleagues elected her presiding judge a few years later, she became the first black woman to hold the post.

“She rose to the top of her profession very quickly,” said state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), another longtime friend. “We have lost one of the youngest and most brilliant female attorneys and judges. Her life may have been short, but it was distinguished.”

The fast climb was followed by a devastating period of erratic behavior and emotional breakdown that ended her judicial career.

In 1986, her fellow jurists removed her as presiding judge after bizarre behavior that included stopping court proceedings to fix a fingernail and lying in a fetal position on the floor of her chambers. She was also accused of frequent absences, playing favorites in making assignments and trying to use her office as a springboard for election to the Superior Court.

Thomas was placed on medical leave while the state Commission on Judicial Performance investigated. She fought for and won a disability pension and retired.

Green said the former judge had tried to put the past behind her and was just beginning to blossom again.

“She was upbeat. She was traveling. She was happier than I had seen her in a long time. Then this,” Green said.

“She made two trips to Africa,” Green said. “She went to Brazil and Argentina. She made several trips to Washington, D.C., where she has relatives. She redecorated her home.”

Green said her friend tried hard to rebuild her life by doing volunteer work too.

“In the last several years, she was very giving and donated her services to people who couldn’t afford lawyers,” she said.

Thomas was divorced and had no children. She is survived by several cousins, Green said.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Second Baptist Church, 2412 Griffith Ave.