Supervisors Honor Judge After He Is Given Award : Courts: The county recognizes Van Nuys jurist Irwin J. Nebron. He is known for his work with juveniles and the candy jars in his chambers.

A Van Nuys Superior Court judge, known for chambers that resemble an old-fashioned candy store, was honored by the County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning for receiving a top award from his fellow judges.

At a conference in San Diego last month, the California Judges Assn. awarded Judge Irwin J. Nebron its annual President’s Award for his contributions to the criminal justice system and to the community.

More than 100 friends and admirers gathered at the supervisors’ Hearing Room Tuesday, where Supervisor Ed Edelman presented Nebron with a proclamation.

“It was great,” the judge said after the ceremony.

Nebron was also honored Tuesday by officials from Ventura County, where he first practiced law. He received a plaque from “Your Guys,” a group of attorneys who practiced before him when he first became a judge. And, to his surprise, former President Ronald Reagan sent him a letter of congratulations, even though Nebron is an active Democrat.

Nebron, respected for his work with juveniles during nearly 29 years on the bench, said he had been trying to present the public with “an image of the judiciary as not just people in black robes.”

In Nebron’s chambers, visitors are invited to sample candy from two dozen jars that litter his desk.

Because his courtroom is on the same floor as family law courts, where mothers and fathers fight custody disputes, Nebron said bailiffs sometimes bring young children with bickering parents into his chambers for M & M’s or Tootsie Rolls.

“I think it’s very important that kids early have a positive view of the courts,” Nebron said.

Nebron began putting out candy soon after he was appointed a judge. He said his young daughter would come into his courtroom and play with magnetized toy cars used to demonstrate accident scenes, and this gave him the idea to turn jury deliberation rooms into playrooms for children.

Then he realized that candy might help him with adults as well.

“Attorneys know that if they settle a case here and get a case out of the system, then the drawer comes open and out comes the good stuff,” he said, pointing to giant bags of gummy bears and candy bars.

A former Juvenile Court judge, Nebron is a director of New Directions for Youth, a San Fernando Valley organization dedicated to keeping troubled youths out of the criminal justice system.

He also sits on the executive board of Boy’s Republic, a San Bernardino County facility for teen-agers who would normally be locked up in the California Youth Authority.

In presenting Nebron with the award, California Judges Assn. President Patrick J. Morris cited Nebron’s “hyperkinetic enthusiasm.”

Nebron has spent the past year organizing committees that bring together judges, attorneys and members of the media in 23 counties.

Although attorneys who appear in Nebron’s court remember his candy, they also praise his legal expertise.

“He’s widely versed and a well-educated judge,” Warner Center attorney Bruce Hill said. “He has a vast breadth of experience.”