| Judge appointed for Peterson trial January 21, 2004 Contra Costa Times Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Richard Arnason, who juggles a calendar as busy as any in the Martinez courthouse, even though he has retired, will preside over the murder trial of Scott Peterson in San Mateo County, state officials announced today. Arnason was assigned by Chief Justice Ronald George today to preside over the double murder trial. The case was moved to Redwood City because of extensive pretrial publicity in Stanislaus County. In 41 years on the bench, Arnason has handled many complex cases, including that of Angela Davis. Davis was charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in connection with a 1970 Marin County court shootout where four people, including a judge, were killed. More recently, Arnason presided over the case of a former Stockton gang member who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering retired plastic surgeon Kim Fang during a home invasion robbery in Alamo in 2000. Technically retired since 1995, Arnason, 82, still sits on the bench and gets paid on a per-day basis. "There's Methuselah in the Bible, and there's Judge Arnason," state appellate justice and former county judge James Marchiano said in a 2001 interview. Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown appointed Arnason, an Antioch lawyer, to the bench in 1963. The judge has handled criminal law ever since, outlasting lawyers and judges that came before and after him. "I had a long, lengthy career in the D.A.'s office that will have started and ended while Arnason's been on the bench," said former District Attorney Gary Yancey in 2001. But it's not Arnason's longevity that is most admired. "He exudes a sense of respect for other human beings, and he seems to know what it's like to be in someone else's shoes," said Public Defender David Coleman. The judge addresses all defendants as "sir" or "ma'am" and regularly offers sympathy to victim when cases are finished. He is unfailingly polite -- even to lawyers. "That's not always the case elsewhere," said deputy public defender Dan Cook, Arnason's obvious respect for the legal process makes his courtroom the high standard. "The result might be the same, but the way you get there is different than anywhere else," Cook said. In 2000, a client of Cook's was on trial for capital murder and one morning was not allowed to shave in jail before coming to court. Instead of just bringing in the jury, Cook said Arnason tried to get jail officials to relent. When that didn't work, the judge took off his black robe, marched two blocks to the corner convenience store, bought a razor and shaving cream and let 25-year-old Dalton Lolohea shave in his private bathroom. "I was floored," Cook said. And Lolohea, whom Arnason later sentenced to life in prison without parole, was "very appreciative," Cook said. Arnason never condemns defendants' actions and always wishes them luck. Many thank him afterward. And though he renders judgment, he does not pass it. "He doesn't confuse his right to make secular decisions with God's right to make theological decisions," Coleman said. Arnason often says that hope is most important and not to be taken away from a person. It stems, he told a group of scholarship recipients in August, from values instilled by his mother. She always told him, "Things will be better for you." Arnason, the oldest of nine children, was raised on a farm in Hensel, N.D.,about 20 miles from the Canadian border. The family raised grain and cattle, said his brother, Fred Arnason. The Arnasons moved to Langdon when the eldest was in seventh grade, and then five years later to Grand Forks so Arnason could attend the University of North Dakota. He graduated in 1943, and earned a law degree from UC Berkeley's School of Jurisprudence, now called Boalt Hall, in 1946. He eventually hung out a shingle in Antioch, at a time lawyers did not specialize in specific types of law. "You literally did what the client needed or wanted," Arnason said. He drafted wills, defended DUI cases and did numerous workers' compensation cases, Arnason said. When appointed to the bench in 1963, Arnason resigned long-held positions on the City of Antioch Personnel Board and Antioch Unified School District Board. He and his wife, Joyce, raised four children. He doesn't talk much about his immediate family unless asked, Fred Arnason said. He's more interested in how others are doing. "He makes sure he telephones every family member on their birthday," Fred Arnason said. The judge treats his staff like family, too, they say. He asks after everyone's children, attends weddings and offers advice. He'll also talk sports with anyone and remains devoted to the UC Berkeley Bears. When Arnason was specially assigned to the Angela Davis case, critics called him a country judge. He quickly mastered the legal issues and moved the trial to San Jose, where a jury acquitted Davis of all charges in 1972. "He relishes the intensity of serious charges and complicated issues," said deputy district attorney Tom Kensok, who has tried several lengthy cases before Arnason. After Davis, Arnason's high energy and love for the complex were satisfied by running the criminal court calendar. "It was so diversified: different issues, no case was ever the same," said Ginny Nelson, his clerk for more than 21 years. "He's got such a passion for the law, it's incredible." Not considered the sweetest of judicial assignments, the calendar judge carries a heavy workload and sees numerous cases. Arnason did it for more than a decade. At one point, two judges offered to take over his calendar by splitting it between them, Janell Sokol, Arnason's court reporter in the late 1970s and early 1980s, said in 2001. His pace can be grueling. Arnason gets impatient waiting for cases to move and expects everyone to be fully prepared when they do. Sokol has nothing but praise for her old boss, but says she resigned after having children. "I love you, judge, but I'm going to have to put my kids up for adoption if I keep this job," Sokol said. Arnason retired at the end of his last elected term in 1995. He was 73, and law at the time required judges to retire at the end of the term that included their 70th birthday. Most of his staff went to work for other judges. "But I kept the faith," Nelson said. "I knew he wasn't going anywhere." Arnason still gets to the office by 6 a.m., making him an invaluable part of the bench, said 2001 Presiding Judge Garrett Grant. The presiding judge is responsible for assigning cases to his colleagues on the county bench. Over the years, Arnason has taken a few days off here and there, and his wife of 55 years has gotten "pretty used to my idiosyncrasies," Arnason said. But growing up on the farm, nobody took time off, he pointed out. "I think my brother relaxes best when he's sitting on the bench," Fred Arnason said. "His vacation starts the minute he gets to work in the morning." RELATED STORIES - JUDGE OFF CASE HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT EVIDENCE-NEWS ALIBI-WITNESS LIST |
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