Retirements hamper Sonoma County bench

As judges retire and Gov. Brown fails to make interim appointments, some fear court delays and a greater strain on jurors.|

Elliot Daum’s greatest hope is that his retirement party will coincide with his replacement’s swearing-in.

But the way things have been going lately, that’s not a likely scenario for the Sonoma County superior court judge, who is leaving the bench in December after 17 years.

Gov. Jerry Brown has shown he’s in no hurry to appoint judges. Brown has left unfilled a spot created when Judge Gary Medvigy retired in October. And his last pick, in 2013, came after a more than yearlong wait.

With the possibility of even more judges retiring over the next 12 months, there’s a fear things could bog down at the Hall of Justice with increased reliance on visiting judges, trial delays and greater strain on jurors.

“I’m a big fan of the governor but I do have concerns over the sloth that occurs when someone leaves,” said Daum, 69, a former public defender whose third six-year term ends in 2019.

Daum’s early departure complicates the succession plan. A Brown appointee could serve his last year but would have to run in the June election to keep the $191,000-a-year post. Daum himself was elected in 2001 after challenging Judge Patricia Gray, who was charged with ethics violations in part for campaign materials calling one of Daum’s clients a “cop killer.”

“What makes this interesting is if you want my seat you’ve got to sign up to run,” Daum said. “I wish (Brown) would give someone some tenure before the election.”

A Brown spokesman did not return a call Friday seeking comment. From 2011 to 2016, Brown appointed 356 judges statewide from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants, according to the governor’s website. Forty-five judges - both Republican and Democrat - were appointed last year.

Turnover is not new to the Sonoma County bench. Nine new judges have joined since 2010 when a wave of retirements led to an infusion of new blood. The court now has 20 judges and three commissioners handling about 100,000 criminal and civil cases a year.

Last year, about 81,000 county residents were summoned for jury duty with about two-thirds asked to appear.

Judges have placed a priority on starting trials on time with limited delays. Statistics on felony continuance motions show a 10 percent decline in the one-year period ending in June.

“At the present, we are very efficient,” said Rene Chouteau, supervising judge of the civil division. “And we want to stay that way. Every continuance costs taxpayers hundreds of dollars. When you multiply ?that over a year, it’s a lot of money.”

However, judicial vacancies and the increased use of temporary judges brought in from outside the area threatens that. The court is projected to have used temporary judges 495 times last fiscal year compared with to 412 times the previous year, said Cindia Martinez, assistant court executive officer.

At least two other judges, Raima Ballinger and Robert Boyd, are said to be considering retirement.

Neither returned calls seeking comment.

“You might have one judge one week and the next week it’s someone else,” said Santa Rosa criminal defense attorney Kristine Burk. “I feel like the outcome of someone’s case should not be dictated by the whims of scheduling.”

Adding to the stress is the retirement of the court’s administrative head, Jose Guillen, who oversees 130 employees, a ?$29 million budget and the ongoing switch to a controversial new paperless case management system. Officials are in the midst of a national recruitment which they hope to complete later this year.

“It’s a perfect storm of difficulties,” Chouteau said.

Rumors are swirling about who might be in the running to fill Medvigy’s spot. Commissioner Jennifer Dollard’s name has emerged. She came from Shasta County in 2014. Some say she’s a safe bet because Brown’s one and only appointment to the court was then-Commissioner Larry Ornell four years ago.

In general, any attorney who has worked in the state at least 10 years is eligible. Finalists go through a rigorous vetting.

Daum, who began working as a lawyer in Sonoma County in the mid-1970s, has watched the painfully slow process play out many times.

A few years ago, he wrote the governor, urging him to hurry up in picking a replacement for a retiring colleague. The former Shakespearean actor cited lines from Hamlet about the “thrift” of having two ceremonies at once - a retirement party and an inauguration.

Brown never responded.

“He might have thought, ‘Who is this a--hole?’” Daum joked.

The left-leaning judge, who earlier this year placed an orange on a shelf in his courtroom in a protest of President Donald Trump, said the argument for a full bench goes beyond juror convenience or upholding speedy trial laws.

Residents of Sonoma County deserve to have justice meted out by judges who live and work in the county, he said. Anything short of that deprives them of a requisite commitment and is an erosion of representative government.

“It just ought to be,” Daum said. “It just makes sense.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.

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