Retired Judges Come Back to Help Overloaded Courts

Playing referee to child-custody disputes wasn’t Allan Steele’s idea of a blissful retirement.

But for seven months last year, the 69-year-old judge postponed a Baja vacation and romps with his grandchildren to fill a critical need on the Ventura County bench and pocket some extra cash.

“It is always nice to go back and do what you think you’re good at, and contribute something back to the system,” Steele said. “And I will not minimize the idea that you can make some money at it.”

A growing number of retired judges are returning to the courtroom to tackle thousands of criminal, civil and family law cases that flood the courthouse each year.

“We have a number of judges working like dogs up here,” retired Superior Court Judge William L. Peck said recently. “We’re like the poor man’s cow--we’re underfed and over-milked.”

During the past six months, five retired judges worked 471 days and 86 of those were without pay. Lawyers and court officials say they provide an invaluable service to an overloaded system.

But the reason retired judges slip back into their black robes is not entirely altruistic or beyond criticism.

Retired judges earn $407 per day for temporary assignments--a potentially lucrative sum when tacked on top of full-time retirement pay that can reach $82,959 annually.

The $407 is the same daily rate earned by Superior Court judges, who make $110,612 annually.

“Do they make a lot of money?” asked Ventura attorney Gary Jacobs, who has tried several cases in front of retired judges. “They are lining their pockets. But it is saving the state money.”

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Indeed, judges and court officials argue the daily stipend is cheaper than hiring new full-time judges, which the county has requested for years.

“We have at all times at least two judges and generally three sitting here on assignment paid for with a special fund,” Presiding Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. said. “I think that is an economic decision made by the state. . . . It seems to me that it would be more appropriate to give the county what it needs. We need 2 1/2 to three more judges than we have now.”

In recent years, money funneled from the state’s Assigned Judges Program directly to the local courts has grown from $270,502 in 1995-96 to $416,605 in 1997-98.

The state spent a larger amount last year because of two unexpected vacancies, which forced the courts to pull in extra help. Judge Robert C. Bradley was suspended in January 1998 after two drunk-driving arrests, and Judge Frederick A. Jones died of leukemia a month later.

This year, Ventura County has $289,038 to hire temporary judges--a reduction resulting from pay raises tied to the unification of Municipal and Superior courts in 51 counties across the state.

In Ventura County, the unification has resulted in greater judicial flexibility and efficiency, but retired judges are still needed.

“I think there is always going to be a need,” said Judge Burt Henson, 72, who retired from the Municipal Court in 1987 and has been hearing criminal and civil cases. “This is something we know and we have experience in.”

Temporary Jurists Not Held Accountable

With less available money, Henson and retired Judge Marvin Lewis have agreed to do some work for free while four retired judges--Steele, Peck, John J. Hunter and Charles R. McGrath--are expected to rotate into assignments during the year.

Some lawyers have criticized the state’s increasing reliability on temporary jurists, arguing the retired judges are not held accountable for their actions like sitting judges, who must face reelection every six years.

“We have a system that was put in place to ensure that we have qualified people serving and that we have a process where they are accountable to the electorate,” said Kevin Fillo, a Ventura attorney. “Retired judges aren’t in that.”

But those complaints are quickly brushed aside by lawyers and judges who say that without retired judges, the county’s courts would quickly become backlogged.

“The fact remains, the people demanding trial is more than we can keep up with,” said Peck, who retired last month. “If we did not have judges sitting on assignment, we simply couldn’t hold up.”

Ventura County is no different from many other counties feeling the pinch brought on by population growth and increased court filings.

Two years ago trial courts received some relief when the Legislature created 21 judgeships--the first in nearly a decade. But last year the funding for 40 more positions stalled in Sacramento.

Now, judicial officials are pushing for 50 new judgeships statewide. Ventura County is expected to get one of those positions, and ranks high among counties where new judges are needed the most.

“I think the Judicial Council recognizes that the long-term answer is to have enough judges, but the reality is we may not have the number of judges we need all the time because of the budget,” said Lynn Holton, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco.

Courts Dependent on Retired Judges

As a result, courts across the state have become increasingly dependent on retired judges.

Last year, judges serving in the Assigned Judges Program provided 27,107 days of service, the equivalent of 108 judicial positions.

Locally, the demand for more judges stems not only from population growth but from an increase in severe criminal cases, such as death-penalty murder trials.

Also clogging the courts have been the growing number of people who argue their own divorce and child-custody cases to save money.

Although the courts have set up weekly clinics and self-help centers to help these litigants, court officials say they still must spend extra time guiding parties through a maze of intimidating legal forms and procedures.

“The county is significantly bigger than it was 10 years ago, and you have to look at the types of things we are doing now,” Campbell said.

Also, the courts are now required to dispose of all civil cases within two years--a mandate the supervising civil court judge has met by shuffling more cases to retired judges.

“We are settling enormous numbers of cases [before trial], but even with that there is a limit to how efficient you can become,” Peck said.

Having a retired judge ready to begin jury selection has forced litigates to decide whether they really want to try their case, judges said.

“Sometimes that crystallizes people’s thinking,” Judge Henry J. Walsh said. “We’re able to tell people, ‘We may not be able to get you to trial today, but we can get you [to trial] this week.’ ”

Henson and Lewis have been key players in the court’s settlement strategy.

Although both have presided over criminal matters in the past, they now handle only civil matters. And since the funding cut last summer, Lewis has worked 73 days without charge, and Henson 13.

Last week, Lewis was presiding over a product-liability case in a makeshift courtroom at the Ventura College of Law. (In addition to a lack of judges, the county lacks courtroom space.) Before taking the bench, Lewis said he returned to the bench because he had missed the work.

“I just got bored out of my mind by retirement,” the 70-year-old judge said. “I watched the entire O.J. trial, that was the highlight of my day. I was just going out of my gourd.”

Local Retirees on High-Profile Cases

Although he would prefer to be paid again, Lewis said the court needs the help and he needs to keep busy. “For me, it’s an easy choice,” he said. “As long as they’ll have me, I’m available.”

Henson presided over the 1995 trial of Simi Valley stripper Robin Goebel, convicted of trying to extort $80,000 from a 72-year-old man she pretended to love.

More recently, Henson heard the slip-and-fall case filed by the boyfriend of former Mickey Mouse Club member Darlene Gillespie. Jerry Fraschilla sued the city of Ventura for injuries he claimed to have suffered during a jogging accident on the Ventura Pier. The jury found the city was not at fault.

Henson initially returned to the bench at the request of judges, but stayed in large part because he enjoys the work, he said.

“If you keep working while you’re retired, it keeps you from getting senile,” Henson quipped. “I retired at 60, maybe that was too young.”

Attorneys who have tried cases before retired judges say they are just as capable as ever. They describe Lewis as bright and a master of the evidence code.

Oxnard attorney Terrence Bonham defended Ventura in the Fraschilla case and said Henson did “an excellent job.”

“My experience with them has been pretty good,” Bonham said. “I think in Ventura we have been really lucky to have them volunteer.”

Henson said he does not expect to fill in as much this year, in part because so many other judges have expressed interest in rotating onto the bench. Instead, he and his wife are planning a trip to Alaska and a cruise to Tahiti.

Steele also plans to travel more and serve on the bench less.

After his retirement, the former family law attorney continued to preside over divorces, custody disputes and domestic violence cases. But Steele said the reason he retired was to get away from the stress.

“It’s a pressure-filled job. You make a lot of decisions that affect people’s lives,” said Steele, who is finally getting that trip to Cabo San Lucas this month. “I’m just now trying to keep the smile off my face.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Trial Court Workload

The number of court filings per judicial position in Ventura County has grown...

1996: 5,960

1998: 6,822

...while the number of judges available to handle those cases has remained the same.

1996: 27

1998: 27

At the same time, state funding to pay retired judges to help manage the heavier workload was cut last year.

1997: $416,605

1998: $289,038

Source: Administrative Office of the Courts