Manager Keeps Order in the Court

Every weekday morning, those wishing to gain access to the Pasadena courthouse--lawyers, jurors, witnesses and a few defendants--wait together in a long line that inches forward along the outside of the building.

By looking at their faces, Gerald Kippen can determine how the rest of his day will go.

“You can tell by the people coming in if it’s going to be a good day or if we have problems,” said Kippen, the administrator for Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Northeast District, which, besides Pasadena, includes the Alhambra, Burbank, Glendale and Monrovia courthouses. “You can get your finger on exactly what’s going on.”

The 64-year-old court veteran, a slender man with bushy eyebrows and a mustache, observes the lengthy procession from a perch near the metal detector and conveyor belt at the building’s entrance. Kippen, who has been part of the court system for more than 40 years and is its longest-serving current court administrator, remains invigorated by the people whom he serves.

“We always say that we have the most unhappy customers in the world,” he said. “They are either being sued or are defendants in a criminal case or in a family law case. A lot of people coming here have never been to court before. It’s a new experience. They are terrified. You try to help them as much as possible.”

As administrator of the Northeast Division, a job he’s held since 1984, Kippen oversees a budget of $18 million and a staff of more than 300 people.

He is responsible for overseeing everything that does or does not happen at the five courthouses. For example, he must make sure that the courtrooms are staffed with court reporters, clerks and bailiffs, that the judges are following recent changes in law and court procedures and even that the elevators are running properly.

One recent afternoon, Kippen had to help get things back under control after an angry man, in court to take care of a traffic ticket, punched through a window, causing glass to hit a court employee.

In addition, he is a member of the supervisory committee of the Courts and Records Federal Credit Union and is the co-chairman of special services for Los Angeles County’s Management Council, for which he helps organize educational conferences.

“Gerry Kippen is the professor emeritus of court administrators,” said Judge Mary Thornton House, supervising judge at the Pasadena courthouse. “He’s done almost everything you can do as a court administrator, and he has tremendous credibility with both the people who work for him and the judges who work with him.”

Kippen, a Kentucky native who now lives in Burbank, joined the L.A. court system in 1961, fresh out of the University of Louisville. He has worked his way up its ranks, from entry-level clerk to court clerk to supervising court clerk.

Early in his career, he considered becoming a lawyer, and even took classes at Southwestern University School of Law, but his long days in court took their toll.

“Things happen,” he said. “I ended up staying.”

The most memorable career moments, Kippen said, came early.

In 1963, he was a clerk in the courtroom where the first Onion Field trial, in which two men were convicted of the abduction and murder of a Los Angeles police officer, was held. “I was sitting there and one of the attorneys came in and told us that John F. Kennedy had been killed,” he said.

Working for Judge Earl Broady Sr. in the late 1960s, Kippen met jazz musician Chet Baker, who had come in to appear on charges relating to a drug problem. “That I will never forget,” Kippen said. “He used to bring us records.”

In recent years, Kippen has helped to inaugurate drug and domestic violence courts, establish a call-in system for traffic violators and move his courts to a one-day, one-trial jury system.

All the while, the people working alongside him have dealt with the day-to-day business of the legal system, offering up everything from small claims to search warrants and handling everything from family courts to criminal cases.

Kippen said many of the issues and conflicts have remained similar during his tenure, but the court personnel have changed dramatically.

“When I was an entry-level clerk, they used to give the court clerk positions to the old-timers. Most of the court clerks were the older workers, and we had very few women then. The job wasn’t as demanding,” he said. “It’s changed dramatically in the time I’ve worked here. Now, it’s a younger, more diverse group, with different attitudes. It’s a steppingstone for wherever they want to go.”

Kippen--who holds a season pass to Disneyland, loves old movies and attends “oldies but goodies concerts” whenever he has the chance--often slips into the habit of speaking about his job in religious terms. He is a shepherd of sorts, and this job, he says repeatedly, sustains him.

Kippen’s wife, Linda, who also worked as a court clerk, died last year after battling melanoma for five years. He is now raising their two teenage children, a boy and a girl, alone.

“It’s been tough on me,” said Kippen, who also has an adult son from a previous marriage.

Those who have watched him struggle with his wife’s death said that even when he was distracted by what was going on at home, Kippen found solace at work.

“He’s my hero,” House said. “He let the tragedy make his work life important, and I think we have all benefited from that. His wife would be real proud of him, how he’s continued on, taking care of the family. It’s been very heartwarming to observe.”

Kippen has been with the county for so long that when he retires he will be entitled to receive 100% of his $102,000 base salary annually. But he is tenacious in his desire to continue doing what he has been doing for so many years.

“If I retired I could do a lot of volunteering,” he said. “But I can do more here. I can help more people here.”

Kippen said one of his immediate challenges involves the recent addition of the Burbank and Glendale courts to his district.

“The sheriff condemned the lockup in Glendale. We are trying to work out some issues,” he said. “It’s something or the other almost every day. That’s what makes the job interesting.”