Peck to Leave Superior Court After 18 Years

Veteran Ventura County jurist William L. Peck announced Wednesday that he will retire Jan. 22 after 18 years on the Superior Court bench.

Peck, 66, has contemplated retirement for months. With a Democratic governor set to take office for the first time in 16 years, the judge--appointed to the bench by Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, in 1980--said he believed that this was the appropriate moment to step down.

“Given my druthers between Gov. [Pete] Wilson and Gov.-elect [Gray] Davis, I’ll take Davis,” he said. “We’ve had 16 years in the wilderness. . . . It was time.”

Peck, the only supervising judge of civil trial judges, is known as a outspoken jurist who believes that the system fails when a civil case goes to trial.

“Here’s a guy who’s a hard-working, aggressive judge who forced parties to the bargaining table and made them settle,” Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren said. “You need a force like that who was willing to incur the enmity of the participants for the greater good of the system.”

With as many as four judgeships expected to open in the county over the next few months, Peck’s retirement will intensify the jockeying for position among potential replacements.

There could be another Superior Court position available if either Perren or Judge Melinda A. Johnson move to the state Court of Appeal when Presiding Justice Steve J. Stone retires Jan. 5.

The county is also expected to get another badly needed judicial position next year, the first since 1986. And the vacancy left when Superior Court Judge Allan Steele retired has yet to be filled, although Wilson is likely to make that appointment before leaving office.

“There’s going to be plenty of opportunities,” said attorney Bob Gallaway, former chairman of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee. “You’re going to see people line up very quickly to take advantage of those vacancies.”

Potential candidates for Peck’s position include Kent Kellegrew, appointed last year to handle traffic cases in Municipal Court. Kellegrew has applied to the State Bar’s nomination and evaluation commission for consideration.

Public defender Gary Windom, who has made two unsuccessful bids for a position as Superior Court judge, is also a strong candidate.

“He would be considered a leading candidate,” said local attorney Glen Reiser, a Republican who himself is often mentioned as a contender for appointment to the bench. “He has a lot of support in the community and that’s important.”

Peck spent three years, from 1962-65, as a deputy district attorney in the county and spent 15 years in private practice before his appointment.

From 1985-86, he served as presiding judge of the Superior Court. During his career, he also served as a judge in the juvenile, family and criminal courts.

But Peck’s forte was the less glamorous civil arena.

The Ojai resident said he is proud of his ability to bring opposing sides to the table in civil cases without a trial, a strategy that has helped free up the county’s overtaxed courtrooms and judges.

“In spite of that, we really have been able to get the work out,” Peck said. “I suspect we’re probably getting out a higher percentage of civil cases than any other court in California.”

Although he is leaving a $107,000-a-year position, Peck said he will continue to take assignments in retirement as well as do private judging.