Shakeup at juvenile court, judge reassigned

Late Friday afternoon, Presiding Judge Stephen Hall announced her mid-year reassignment to the South San Francisco courthouse which also shifts Judge Susan Etezadi to the juvenile division come July. Judge Elizabeth Lee who was assigned to juvenile in January was named supervising judge.

The decision sent tongues wagging, particularly in the main Redwood City courthouse, and left Diaz a bit stunned.

Diaz said she "absolutely [did] not ask for this,” she learned of the change when a colleague phoned.

Judicial rotations happen each January and are not uncommon mid-year, Hall said.

Hall also said his style is to alert judges to changes the same time as other court officials and the public. There was no politicking or personal friction that led to his action, Hall said.

"Judge Diaz has done a wonderful job ... the decisions I made were based upon where I think overall the court needs her,” said Hall, adding that he was not aware of any judge ever maintaining a single assignment for a career.

Those needs, he said, include the pending retirement of one judge.

Pat Miljanich, executive director of Advocates for Children, believes that decision puts the needs of those who pass through juvenile court last.

Advocates for Children is a nonprofit that trains volunteers to represent abused or neglected children in court.

Miljanich worries that families won’t have the benefit of a judge with institutional knowledge of their circumstances, such as a child whose own mother was in foster care. She also said new judges may not give CASA’s opinions the same weight in court as written reports or social workers.

"This is a complete disaster and for what looks like petty politics, children and families are the ones who will be the losers,” Miljanich said.

Juvenile defender Kathryn Yolken, who handles delinquency and dependency cases, is "very uncertain” about what will happen come July.

"I personally have a couple of trials set in July and August and I’m very concerned about what will happen if the judges are not familiar with the law,” she said.

She also cites the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care which recommended to the state Judicial Council having judges who both understand and have a passion for that particular area. The commission also recommends, when possible, the same judicial officer hear a case from beginning to end.

"I think this flies in the face of the recommendations,” Yolken said.

Miljanich concedes the presiding judge has "the absolute authority to do what he did” but believes, as an elected official, he owes it to the community to offer an explanation.

Diaz would not directly address rumors that her move was related to in-fighting over future leadership among the judges, specifically who will be the next assistant presiding judge. Sources say Diaz was asked last fall to support a judge who planned to seek the position against a candidate tapped by the next presiding judge.

"I wish I could deny that but regrettably I cannot deny that happened,” Diaz said.

She also agreed some may find her too outspoken, but said she is "very tenacious” in the face of things she finds objectionable as a judge.

Personnel matters aside, Diaz said her concern is how such an abrupt reassignment may ripple through the juvenile courts which she’s grown to understand over the last nine and a half years.

The issue isn’t the matter of who will take over, Diaz said, remarking that Lee specifically has the necessary ingredients to do a dynamic job in the juvenile courts.

Lee could not be reached for comment.

But Diaz said the job takes at least a year to grasp the intricacies of the juvenile courts, particularly with dependency matters. Giving Lee the equivalent of 10 working business days to grasp the entirety of a complex division isn’t enough, Diaz said.

Diaz said she eventually had planned to leave the juvenile court, which she joined in 2000, but with a smooth transition in which the subsequent judges and the families with which they work are comfortable.  

Like Miljanich, Yolken said she’s less surprised by Diaz’s move than with the lack of a transition during which the new judges can familiarize themselves. Several judges have rotated through juvenile but there was always Diaz as a constant while they got up to speed, Yolken said.

"I would hate to open ourselves up to some kind of liability. It’s not that they can’t learn the law, but it takes a while,” Yolken said.

Unlike adult court, juvenile court also includes strong ties with the community, work to secure federal funding for needy families and programs and handles non-criminal matters like parental rights, authorizing the end of life support or mandating transfusions in spite of religious preferences.

Diaz came to the juvenile court with experience as a dependency lawyer but said she still called her predecessor, retired judge Margaret Kemp, at least five or six times a day for guidance. She said she expects to be such a mentor to her successors as necessary.

But advocates like Miljanich still worry that a new face on the bench will — at least in the short term — have repercussions both inside and outside the courtroom.

"Basically, we’re starting from scratch with the next person,” Miljanich said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.