Accused Judge Had a Drinking Problem, Former Lover Testifies

A Santa Barbara County judge accused of pulling a gun during a drunken confrontation with her domestic partner had started drinking heavily because of growing career and personal problems, her former lover testified Wednesday.

Deidra Dykeman, a project manager for Raytheon, struggled visibly to constrain her emotions as she recounted a relationship with Superior Court Judge Diana R. Hall.

“I was in love, I fell in love,” Dykeman, 39, said of her feelings for Hall after they first met in 1988.

But their relationship began to deteriorate after they bought a house together in the Santa Ynez Valley, Dykeman said. An early turning point, she said, was Hall’s anger over failure to win some law enforcement endorsements in a primary election last year.

Hall, 52, suffers from Crohn’s disease, a chronic bowel disorder, and did not start drinking until after the election, Dykeman said.

“She was probably drinking a bottle of wine a night,” she said.

Hall’s anger finally exploded Dec. 21 when an argument turned into alleged threats of violence triggered by a 911 call by Dykeman to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department.

“I had never seen her so angry before in my life,” Dykeman told Assistant Dist. Atty. Kimberly Smith.

Though defense lawyer Jack Earley has portrayed Dykeman as a vengeful liar, angry at being spurned by Hall, Dykeman said Wednesday she was the one seeking to end the relationship.

“I told her the weekend before that we should think of breaking up because of the drinking,” Dykeman said.

Hall is charged with felony counts of dissuading a witness by force with a firearm and damaging a telephone to block a 911 call. She also faces misdemeanor charges of exhibiting a gun, domestic battery, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content more than .08. Her blood alcohol level was .18.

Hall won the 2002 election with 85% of the vote. She was presiding criminal judge in Lompoc. Since her arrest, she has been suspended with pay.

Earlier, Tammy Gilbert, a sheriff’s communications dispatcher, recounted the 911 calls from Dykeman, who initially called but then hung up. Gilbert then called her back. At that time, Dykeman said she thought the dispute had “been resolved.”

About a minute later, however, she called back asking for help.

“My domestic partner is going after me.... She’s pulling my hair, she’s hitting me, she’s swearing at me. She’s throwing the phone, telling me to get out of the house.”

When asked if Hall was in possession of a gun, Dykeman first said that Hall was unarmed. Soon after, however, she told the dispatcher, “She’s got the gun. I’m sorry. She’s got the gun. Oh god, she’s got a gun. I’m really scared now.”

Sheriff’s deputies were already headed to the house when Dykeman announced that Hall had driven away in a gold Acura. Spotting the car, they pulled her over at gunpoint and handcuffed her.

Senior Deputy Mark Ream, one of six witnesses testifying Wednesday, said he interviewed Dykeman for about half an hour after arriving at the house with Deputy Dominique Gilbert.

“She was upset, “ Ream said. “It was clear to me that something had occurred.”

Ream said Dykeman told him that Hall deliberately broke her cordless phone into three pieces.

Under cross examination, Ream told Earley that Dykeman at one point said she had pushed Hall away from her.

Ream said she told him that she had not been hit by Hall and said nothing about having her hair pulled.