Judge presides over conference

Innovative court programs to decrease recidivism and help crime victims heal have proved effective, but they can take a toll on judges, who may experience “compassion fatigue,” Orange County Superior Court Judge Nancy Wieben Stock told an audience at the Balboa Bay Club on Thursday.

Stock was the keynote speaker at the second annual Orange County Conference for Women, where more than 200 women gathered for panel discussions about women’s health, the judiciary and caring for aging parents.

With a legal career that has lasted 30 years, Stock is part of the first elected two-woman presiding judge team in California’s county court system. She discussed court programs that take a holistic approach to family problems that may worsen offenders’ criminal behavior, and that allow victims to confront offenders who have harmed them.