Judges ‘Cross-Examined’ at CSUN

They’re usually known for being remote, solemn and impenetrable, those black-robed women and men enthroned on platforms, elevated above the average citizens who come before them.

But Wednesday, a group of Los Angeles County Superior Court judges and commissioners came off their high benches for a more down-to-earth community forum at Cal State Northridge.

Casting aside judicial robes in favor of business suits, 14 county jurists spoke candidly about their jobs, answered questions and even, on occasion, tossed back their heads and laughed.

“We’re here to attempt to explain to you what judges can and cannot do,” said Howard J. Schwab, the San Fernando Superior Court judge who started the annual event four years ago.

“We must follow the law. We’re not free agents,” he said to the 50 people, many of them students, in attendance.

The public perceive judges to be omnipotent, but their powers are limited and hands often tied, the jurist said. They are bound by case law and statutes, and they do not enjoy the same freedom of speech as the general public. For example, they are not allowed to discuss pending cases or contribute to political campaigns.

The panel of jurists, who were from Van Nuys and San Fernando courts, addressed topics ranging from juries to judicial appointments.

“It’s not as political as people think it is,” Schwab said. “What you have to do is get yourself known by someone who knows the governor.”

In his case, the judge added, he was appointed by a governor whose political party differed from his own.

As for juries, judges said they agreed with verdicts most of the time and that unreasonably large civil judgments are rare.

“Most juries are pretty fair and pretty conservative,” said Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Richard George Kolostian Sr. He added that Van Nuys juries seem especially “cheap” when it comes to awarding damages.

Called “Cross-Examine Your Los Angeles County Judges,” the event co-sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn. and the CSUN Political Science Department was, in some ways, as decorous and tightly controlled as a court of law.

As judges and commissioners spoke, members of the audience silently scribbled questions on note cards. The questions were collected by bailiff-like ushers and screened before they were read aloud by a moderator, CSUN political science professor Sylvia Snowiss.

When asked if they had advice for young lawyers, the jurists said it was important to be prepared, to know the law and be ethical.

“I’ll tell you a secret: Judges are great gossips,” Schwab said, as his colleagues tittered. A hot topic of conversation is the lawyers they know. That’s why it’s important, he added, to “act with integrity.”