Judge Recuses Himself, Ventura County Bench in Contempt Case

Citing a conflict of interest, presiding Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. recused himself and the entire Ventura County bench Tuesday from a contempt hearing against two veteran prosecutors accused of withholding evidence in a death penalty case.

Campbell stepped down after revealing that Judge Kevin J. McGee may be called as a witness during upcoming court proceedings.

McGee, who was a supervising prosecutor during the 1997-98 trial of Michael Raymond Johnson, later ran for a judicial seat and was endorsed by several sitting judges, including Campbell.

“It seems to me there is an inherent conflict,” said Campbell, reminding lawyers he recorded a radio ad for McGee. “Any chance he may be a witness makes it impossible for me to hear this case.”

The matter is being referred to the California Judicial Council and is expected to be reassigned to a Santa Barbara County judge. A hearing could be set for sometime in March.

Last month, Campbell ordered prosecutors Matt Hardy and Maeve Fox to answer allegations that they intentionally withheld information about Johnson’s mental stability during his trial.

The contempt proceeding comes two years after the prosecutors secured a murder conviction against Johnson in the 1996 slaying of Sheriff’s Deputy Peter J. Aguirre Jr.

The 26-year-old officer was shot execution-style while responding to a domestic disturbance call at the Meiners Oaks home of Johnson’s estranged wife.

Hardy and Fox argued that Johnson killed the officer in cold blood, but defense lawyers said their client was a schizophrenic suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the shooting and shouldn’t be found guilty of first-degree murder.

The jury rejected the defense’s argument and Johnson, then 50, was sentenced to die.

Months later, after inquiries by defense lawyers, prosecutors notified the California Supreme Court that they had withheld a confidential memo summarizing psychologist Daniel Martell’s opinion that Johnson was mentally ill.

Martell never examined the defendant but based his evaluation on documents in the case. He was not called as a witness.

Instead, prosecutors called a different psychologist, who testified that Johnson was not suffering from delusions when he shot Aguirre.

After learning of the Martell memo, Johnson’s public defenders pushed for a civil contempt hearing against Fox and Hardy.

They argued that the two prosecutors were obligated to promptly reveal any information that tended to show the defendant’s innocence or could have affected the severity of his sentence.

Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn called the prosecutors’ decision to withhold the memo a “flagrant foul” that undermines the integrity of the judicial process.

“We see it as a basic departure from the rules of the game,” Quinn said.

If cited for contempt, Fox and Hardy each could face $500 fines or five days in jail. Hardy has since left the district attorney’s office and was not in court Tuesday.

The prosecutors and their supervisors say there was no legal breech. They argue in court papers that the memo was confidential and did not have to be disclosed.

Additionally, they say Martell was a consultant whose opinions did not need to be shared. They want the contempt hearing dismissed.

“We’ve always believed it is an inappropriate proceeding,” said Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Greg Totten. “We certainly will continue to advocate . . . that neither lawyer should be held in contempt.”

One of the first issues to be tackled in coming weeks is whether Johnson’s public defenders can subpoena witnesses.

The defense lawyers recently subpoenaed eight high-ranking prosecutors and investigators in the district attorney’s office in an attempt to secure documents.

But county counsel representing those lawyers and investigators filed a motion to quash the subpoenas, arguing that subpoena power lies with the judge or a lawyer appointed by the judge.

Campbell declined to rule on the motion Tuesday. It is expected to come before another judge after the case is reassigned.