O.C. Judges Barred From Sentencing Citron

SANTA ANA —  The fate of former Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron will be decided by a judge who lives outside Orange County, a judge ruled Friday.

Presiding Superior Court Judge Theodore E. Millard said Orange County judges’ battle with the county government over court funding might pose conflicts of interest if one of the judges were to sentence Citron. Millard asked California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas to name a new judge.

“The general public could easily blame the Orange County bankruptcy and continuing financial crisis on Robert Citron,” Millard wrote in a four-page order. “The Superior Court is directly impacted by this bankruptcy.”

Citron has pleaded guilty to six felonies stemming from the December 1994 bankruptcy. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 23--which Judge Millard ordered unchanged.

The ruling represents a victory for Citron, whose lawyers argued that he might not get a fair hearing from Orange County’s judges. Citron’s attorney, David Wiechert, argued that the local judiciary’s demand that Orange County make up its funding shortfall created potential conflicts of interest for any local judge.

Wiechert declined to comment on Friday’s decision. Citron has pleaded guilty to six felony counts stemming from the bankruptcy and faces up to 14 years in prison. He has been cooperating with prosecutors, and a recent probation report recommended that he receive less than a year in jail.

Friday’s ruling was the second time Millard has disqualified the entire Orange County bench from hearing a bankruptcy-related case. Earlier this month, California’s chief justice appointed a Superior Court judge from Los Angeles County to preside over the civil misconduct cases of three Orange County elected officials.

In December, Orange County’s judges made a formal demand that the county government make up a $31.6-million deficit to offset state budget cuts. The judges said they would have to shut courthouses this spring if they do not get the money they need.

Given the county’s financial problems, Millard said that any local judge presiding over a bankruptcy-related prosecution might appear to have a conflict of interest.

“The trial courts are the cornerstone of the criminal justice system, and their shutting down would result in chaos and seriously jeopardize our communities’ public safety,” the judge wrote.