Mark P. Robinson, 76; Trial Lawyer, Prosecutor and Reluctant Judge

Mark P. Robinson, a Southern California trial lawyer who steered more than 300 jury trials to verdicts and a sometime judge who had conflicting feelings about the bench, has died. He was 76.

Robinson, an Orange County Superior Court judge for 17 months in 1983 and 1984 before resigning abruptly and later suing to get the job back, died of natural causes Saturday at his home in Los Angeles.

After returning from bomber duty over Italy and a few months as a German prisoner of war during World War II, Robinson wanted to be a commercial airline pilot or sports announcer. He even went to radio broadcasting school for about six months.

But his wife, high school sweetheart Mary Rita Curry, held out for something more stable. So he earned a law degree at Loyola University and set about adapting his deep, stentorian voice to the courtroom.

After practicing briefly on his own, Robinson landed a plum assignment trying federal criminal cases as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. He prosecuted 49 major cases to jury verdicts in a single year.

Switching to private civil practice, he handled hundreds of insurance, medical malpractice and personal injury cases, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

In 1966, Robinson’s ever-growing reputation won him appointment as Ventura County’s first public defender. But he resigned before he ever defended anybody, claiming he couldn’t find adequate housing for his large family in Ventura.

Robinson gained an even higher profile as founding president of the American Board of Trial Advocates and by waging a successful campaign to get on the State Bar Board of Governors. But despite his connections in the legal community and his financial contributions to Democratic officeholders, he never sought to be named a judge.

His son, attorney Mark P. Robinson Jr., had other ideas. With his son’s background work, the elder Robinson received a call from Gov. Jerry Brown on practically his last day in office in December 1982.

“I don’t think I’m doing the right thing,� the governor told him, as quoted by the Daily Journal, a Los Angeles-based legal newspaper, “but I’ve been persuaded against my better judgment to put you on the bench in Orange County.�

Robinson accepted with the same amount of enthusiasm. At his formal investiture ceremony, he announced that he wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing.

“I think the thing that makes me more concerned about my being able to do the job as well as the next guy is that I just think I am an advocate, and it’s very difficult to erase that,� he told the Daily Journal after he had been on the bench for six months. “I’m just thinking that maybe there are other people who could do a better job.�.

Sure enough, he resigned on May 22, 1984, after less than 17 months--and with only 30 minutes notice.

But that was far from the end of it. Because nobody filed for his judgeship in the election held just after his resignation, he claimed that he was automatically elected as the incumbent still on the ballot. Robinson tried to return when the elected term began in January 1985, but he was assigned no duties.

Republican Gov. George Deukmejian appointed somebody else to fill the seat. Robinson sued to reclaim the position, but state appellate courts eventually held his election invalid and said no.

Robinson, a former president of the Loyola University Alumni Assn., continued his successful trial practice until the end of his life.

In addition to his wife and son Mark, he is survived by seven other children, Gregory, Jeoffrey, Julie, Kyle, Corky Johansing, Rita Manderville and Sandra Walsh; and 17 grandchildren.

A memorial Mass and reception are scheduled at 11 a.m. Nov. 30 at American Martyrs Church in Manhattan Beach. The family has asked that instead of flowers, memorial donations be sent to Good Shepard Shelter, 2561 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019.