www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/230110.html -
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Published on: 9/7/2007
Last Visited: 9/7/2007
Local lawyers say Westra is demanding but fair
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Kern County Superior Court Judge Clarence Westra Jr. was publicly admonished by the state Commission on Judicial Performance for being discourteous to court staff after numerous private rebukes for similar behavior.
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Judge Clarence Westra Jr.
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Westra is the fourth Kern County Superior Court judge to receive this punishment since 1960.
The Commission on Judicial Performance, which handles complaints about judges, issued the admonishment Wednesday because the judge had been discourteous to bailiffs on two separate occasions in 2006 and 2001.
"The conduct ... was improper action at a minimum," according to the commission's report.
Westra contested the public admonishment, according to the commission, but it did not elaborate on his defense.
Westra is on vacation.
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Several attorneys who frequently appear in his court said Westra is an excellent judge who treats people with respect.But they said he demands attorneys be prepared.
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Jagels said Westra can at times be difficult.
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"Judge Westra is considered by this office to be a good judge," Jagels said.
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During the most recent incident in 2006, Westra ordered a bailiff, who had been sworn to guard a deliberating jury, to remain in court even though the deputy had to go to training and the deputy told the judge about it ahead of time.
The deputy's supervisor, Kern County sheriff's Cmdr.
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In the 2001 incident, Westra said "the Keystone Cops could have handled it better" when a bailiff left the courtroom against his policy while a defendant was testifying in his own trial.
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"Judge Westra probably had a bad day like we all do and said some things he wish he hadn't."
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All attorneys questioned said Westra is always well prepared as a judge and well versed on the laws.
The commission noted Westra "has been the subject of extensive prior discipline," including five advisory letters dating back to 1988.
Advisory letters are lesser punishment for inappropriate behavior and are not made public.
The commission noted the instances date back to 1988 when Westra failed to properly supervise a judicial officer who delayed a ruling.
In 1990, Westra received an advisory letter for making "denigrating" remarks about a deputy district attorney who had another attorney appear in his place, a common courtroom practice.
Westra was quoted as saying the attorney practiced law "like a manure spreader," according to the commission, and said it is "downright amazing" that the district attorney's office kept him on the payroll.
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In a similar situation in 1992, Westra received an advisory letter for making "disparaging remarks" against an attorney who had another attorney appear in his place.
"As far as I'm concerned, his license to practice law is laying on pretty cheap paper. ...You might tell him you're being disadvantaged by his second rate tactics," Westra was quoted as saying on the record.
In 2001, Westra received yet another advisory letter for not paying two municipal court judges the higher pay the law demanded because he did not agree with how they handled certain cases without giving them a chance to explain, according to the commission.
In 2003, Westra was issued his fifth advisory letter for "abusing his judicial authority" when he ordered construction workers who were renovating the court into his courtroom and telling them to not work during certain hours, according to the commission.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Tony Heider said he was surprised at the commission's decision.
"He's not the worst I've seen," Heider said."He's not one of these explosives types.I guess I associate rudeness with explosiveness and he's not that."
Heider said Westra is demanding of his attorneys and insists they be well prepared.
"Westra, as an attorney, was exacting in his own performance and expects that of others," Heider said.
Westra admitted in a profile published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, a legal publication, that he becomes irritated with attorneys who are not prepared.
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Westra also is the fourth judge in the state this year to receive a public admonishment of the roughly 1,500 judges in California.
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Westra, 62, was appointed a judge in 1983.He graduated from law school at UC Davis in 1971.
Before he became a judge, he worked as a deputy district attorney in Kern County from 1972 to 1983.
Westra has said he plans to retire at the end of 2008.
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