Cardenas Denies Granting Favors

Addressing allegations of judicial misconduct for the first time, a retired Orange County judge on Monday admitted acting inappropriately at times but denied giving favorable treatment to defendants represented by a longtime friend.

Luis A. Cardenas’ statements came at the beginning of a hearing by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, which accuses the 56-year-old jurist of releasing 11 suspects over three years at the request of defense attorney Leonard Basinger.

The commission contends that Cardenas let go defendants ranging from alleged drug dealers to suspected wife batterers between July 1993 to August 1996. Cardenas also allegedly reduced the bail or modified probation terms of at least 11 other suspects for Basinger or his daughter, Ginger Larson Kelly, who is also a defense attorney.

Cardenas allegedly took the actions both as a judge and as a “sitting judge” after he retired in March 1996. In most instances, the state claims, Cardenas would release suspects in cases being handled by other judges.

In his brief opening statement, Cardenas admitted that he socialized and took vacations with Basinger but that he provided him no special favors. “I treated him like everybody else--no better, no worse,” said Cardenas, who is defending himself at the hearing in Santa Ana.

Cardenas said that he mishandled some cases in which defendants were released, but it had nothing to do with handing out favors.

“It sounds like I was 24-7 helping these two lawyers. That’s a very distorted view,” he said.

The commission, Cardenas charged, has distorted his judicial record and unfairly tainted his reputation because of his associations with Basinger. Basinger was disbarred, then reinstated in the early 1990s after being convicted of stealing client’s money. He currently faces similar theft charges.

Cardenas did not give details on how he mishandled cases, but said he was prepared to accept the court’s criticism. “I seek forgiveness . . . and apologize to the commission,” he said.

The hearing shed new light on what is considered one of the most serious local court misconduct cases in recent years.

Theodore E. Millard, Orange County’s former presiding judge, testified that in the wake of the Cardenas allegations, the court quietly investigated the action of other retired judges who continued to hear cases. The probe found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The court also changed policies to prevent retired judges from issuing bail or release orders on cases other than their own. Millard said Cardenas may indeed be innocent of the charges, but that his actions nevertheless created the appearance of impropriety.

“It makes all the judges look bad,” said Millard, who stepped down as presiding judge two years ago, of the matter. “It makes people think judges can be bought.”

The commission alleges Cardenas used various means to give favorable rulings to Basinger’s clients, including altering probation and bail orders of other judges. In most of the cases, Cardenas allegedly released defendants on their own recognizance before trial.

In one case, the commission charges that Cardenas released a man facing fraud charges after another judge set a $100,000 bail. According to Millard, the man has yet to be apprehended. In another case, Cardenas allegedly released a drug offender a few weeks into a one-year jail term ordered by another judge.

Millard seemed at times to scold Cardenas during his testimony, saying he should have distanced himself from Basinger at a time when rumors swirled around the courthouse that lawyers could get special favors from Cardenas.

If found guilty of the charges, Cardenas could be publicly censured and barred from sitting on assignment in Superior Court. Retired judges are frequently hired by the courts to handle overflow caseloads.