Report Had Urged No Jail Time for Judge

In a report unsealed this week, probation officers recommended that a jail sentence not be imposed on Robert Bradley, the Ventura County judge suspended after several alcohol-related incidents.

But Santa Barbara County Municipal Judge Denise de Bellefeuille disagreed with the report, sentencing Bradley last Friday to a six-month term for probation violations.

Now at a residential treatment center in Arizona, the 57-year-old Bradley is to start serving his time in Ventura County Jail on Sept. 2.

In her report, Santa Barbara County Probation Officer Karen K. Michaels advocated a three-year probation for Bradley, saying she believes “this defendant has hit rock-bottom.”

Under her recommendation, Bradley would have been in residential treatment for six months to a year and would perform 300 hours of community service.

In her report, she quoted Bradley acknowledging the severity of his alcoholism.

“This is my last best chance,” he said.

“I don’t want to run out on my life and end up drinking beers on some beach in Mexico. I can’t stay here living like this. I just can’t go into treatment programs for 28 days and turn my life around. I need to do this for myself and my kids.”

In a separate report, another Santa Barbara probation officer concurred.

“Imposition of a period of custody at this time would be counter-productive,” wrote Daniel S. Gude. “The defendant has taken the initial steps to address his problems. To arrest that progress would be to create new problems.”

Such arguments did not sway De Bellefeuille at last week’s hearing. She concluded that only a jail term would drive home to Bradley the seriousness of his repeated offenses and the depth of his alcohol problem.

Although the offenses occurred in Ventura County, the hearings on them were held in Santa Barbara to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

Since December, Bradley has been arrested five times--twice for drunk driving, once for riding a bicycle while drunk and twice for probation violations.

He has pleaded guilty to all the charges. The state’s Commission on Judicial Performance has yet to determine whether Bradley will be allowed to practice law or work as a temporary judge in the future.

Bradley, a former Ventura County prosecutor, chose not to run for reelection in last month’s balloting.