County Bar Assn. Board Opposes Half-Cent Jail Tax

In a divided vote, the Board of Directors of the 5,000-member Orange County Bar Assn. has decided to oppose Measure J, the half-cent sales tax intended to pay for construction of a massive jail near Anaheim, board members said Monday.

Although several lawyers familiar with the vote said that they and their colleagues support the idea of building more jails, the board was uncomfortable with the measure as written. Some of the members found it vague and believed that its authors should have taken more time rather than rushing to get it on the May 14 ballot.

The vote represents a rare foray by the county bar into a ballot measure debate, and it comes despite the urging of Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, a past president of the local bar and leading supporter of the sales tax. Capizzi appeared at the board meeting last Wednesday to lobby for the measure.

“I have to admit, I was a little surprised,” Capizzi said Monday. “If any group should be concerned about this issue, it should be the bar.”

Bar President Andrew J. Guilford was unavailable for comment late Monday. Other directors said their colleagues had expressed reservations about several aspects of the measure.

In particular, some of the directors said, the board wanted clearer language about how much money would go toward rehabilitation centers and courts and how much would be spent for construction of a new jail. Some directors also reportedly were uncomfortable with the fact that no jail site is specifically mentioned in Measure J, although county officials have indicated that their preference is for building a 6,720-bed facility in Gypsum Canyon, near Anaheim.

“In concept, everyone endorses the need for more jails, but there were just a lot of concerns,” said Michelle A. Reinglass, treasurer of the County Bar Assn.

The political effects of the Bar Assn. vote are hard to determine. They will largely depend on whether local lawyers canvass actively against the measure. Moreover, much will depend on how much regard residents hold for the bar’s opinion on the matter.

“Maybe the public will view this as one more reason to vote for Measure J,” Capizzi said.

At the same meeting, the board voted to form a committee to discuss whether the association should assist opponents of the measure and to consider recommendations for how the tax money would best be spent.

“The committee was formed to see that the money is well spent if the measure is approved,” said Thomas R. Malcolm, president-elect of the bar. “We’d like to see that it goes for important needs like rehabilitation centers.”

The bar’s action adds that body to the growing list of county and city groups to have lined up on one side or the other on the measure. The sales tax enjoys the support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and of local police chiefs, but many residents and officials in the northeastern part of the county are solidly opposed, as are some residents concerned about the increasing sales tax burden on county residents.