Dally Judge Quits After Drunk-Driving Arrest

Announcing that he was arrested over the weekend for drunk driving, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Bradley withdrew Monday from the trial of accused killer Michael Dally--the second judge to bow out of the case in the past month.

The decision came just a week before the start of jury selection and sent court officials scrambling to find another judge to preside over the most sensational murder case in recent county history.

Bradley, 56, who has served as the Superior Court’s chief judge for the last two years, was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer Saturday night on suspicion of driving under the influence after rolling through a stop sign near his Ojai home, CHP Officer Dave Cockrill said.

A breath test was taken at the Ventura County Jail, which indicated that the judge’s blood-alcohol level was 0.21--more than twice the legal limit for driving, Cockrill said.

For security reasons, Cockrill said the judge was not booked into the jail with the general inmate population and instead was driven home by patrol officers.

The district attorney’s office received the case for review Monday morning, and prosecutors in turn referred the matter to the state attorney general’s office, said Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Kevin J. McGee.

Criminal cases involving judges are typically referred to the state’s leading law enforcement agency, McGee explained. The prosecutor said he was not aware of any prior drunk-driving cases involving local judges.

Such cases appear to be quite rare.

A Compton Municipal Court judge was arrested in 1994 after a traffic accident that killed a 35-year-old passenger in his car. Judge Albert J. Garcia pleaded no contest to drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to a year in County Jail and three years probation.

Bradley did not work Monday and could not be reached for comment at his home. Sheila Gonzalez, the executive officer for the Superior and Municipal courts, said she was uncertain when Bradley would return to work.

“He is seeking help for his problem,” she said.

Bradley’s wife, Dorothea, would not comment on her husband’s arrest except to say he would not be home Monday evening. “It’s so painful,” she said.

The state’s judicial commission is not likely to take action, Gonzalez said, adding that she does not believe Bradley’s arrest will cost him his job.

“Judge Bradley has the ability and the authority to handle all cases,” she said.

As a result of Bradley’s decision to relinquish the Dally trial, Assistant Presiding Judge Charles W. Campbell must quickly find another judge to handle the case. Campbell himself could be a possible choice.

The list of potential judges is limited, since three of the county’s 15 Superior Court judges are handling other death-penalty trials and several others are assigned to civil, juvenile and family law matters.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys said a decision is likely within a few days and are pushing to move ahead with jury selection next week. More than 800 prospective jurors have already been summoned.

“I am hopeful that there won’t be a delay, but we won’t know until Judge Campbell makes his decision,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth said Monday.

Defense attorney James M. Farley, who is representing Dally, said he expects an announcement by Wednesday, when prosecutors and defense attorneys are scheduled to appear for a court hearing on pretrial motions.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect the case at all,” Farley said. “You don’t have to know too much about a case to pick a jury.”

Jury summons were mailed to Santa Barbara County residents Nov. 28. An outside jury is being sought because of heavy pretrial publicity in Ventura County.

Dally, 37, is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for allegedly plotting the murder of his wife, Sherri. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Dally’s longtime lover, Diana Haun, was recently convicted of the same charges. Prosecutors say she fatally stabbed Sherri Dally in May 1996, carrying out an elaborate murder scheme crafted by the lovers to be rid of an inconvenient wife.

Haun was spared execution in October after the same jury found that she was duped by Dally.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones made her prison sentence final by ordering her to pay $10,000 in victim restitution fees. In a rare legal move, he also ordered her to reimburse the county $202,400 in legal fees accrued by her public defenders.

Jones, who was found to have leukemia in 1994, was scheduled to handle Dally’s trial as well but withdrew last month after his doctors urged him to immediately undergo a bone-marrow transplant.

Bradley was chosen as the new trial judge Nov. 24. He was scheduled to begin hearing pretrial motions in the case this week. In a recent interview, he said he was up to the challenge.

“It is a very high-visibility case,” he said. “I’m just going to have to work very hard to get up to speed.”

In his role as presiding judge, Bradley has handled personnel and administrative matters while presiding over civil case settlements.

A former prosecutor and private attorney, Bradley was appointed to the Superior Court in 1984 by Gov. George Deukmejian after serving a year on the Municipal Court. He was elected to the same seat in 1986 and 1992.

He is a graduate of UC Berkeley, earned a law degree at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969.

During his 13-year tenure on the Superior Court, Bradley has presided over family law, juvenile and criminal matters, including three capital murder trials. The Dally case would have been his first criminal trial in seven years.

Times staff writers Scott Hadly, Daryl Kelley and Andy Rose contributed to this story.

* HAUN TRIAL: Convicted killer ordered to reimburse county $202,400. B1