Write-In Rivals of Kline Face Tall Order

Voters face an array of confusing choices in Tuesday’s election for Orange County Superior Court judge. The incumbent, Ronald C. Kline, is the only name on the ballot, but since his arrest on charges of child molestation and possession of child pornography, 11 write-in candidates have thrown their hats in the ring.

The challengers--who face what political observers say is a tough battle--include former judges, retired police officers and a councilwoman. One challenger faces possible disbarment for misappropriating a client’s funds.

According to county officials, the last write-in candidate to win an election was Bruce W. Sumner, a retired judge, who in 1986 narrowly blocked a follower of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. from winning the Democratic nomination in Orange County’s 40th congressional district.

The write-ins are hoping that outrage over Kline’s legal troubles will benefit them.

To keep his seat on the bench, Kline needs 50% plus one of the votes. To force a runoff, officials said, the write-in candidates together would have to garner at least that number. If they succeed, the county would schedule another election between the sitting judge and the challenger who gets the most votes, provided that number is at least 7,647--exactly 1% of the total votes cast in the 2000 judicial election.

“It takes a lot of footwork. You really have to make it personal,” said Karen Robinson, a Costa Mesa council member and one of Kline’s challengers.

The Judge, an Attorney and a Former Judge

Here are the candidates:

* Kline, 61, of Irvine was appointed to the Orange County Superior Court in 1995 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. He has presided over a civil caseload that included a few high-profile lawsuits, such as the 1997 dispute over televising hockey games between the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Fox Sports. Before taking office, Kline worked for more than 20 years as a lawyer specializing in insurance cases.

Kline has declined interviews, referring calls to his criminal defense attorney, Paul S. Meyer. Meyer said of Kline: “The man had a wonderful reputation as a civil trial judge. He was extraordinarily well-respected, and he brought a tremendous wealth of experience in complex civil cases from his many years as a trial lawyer.”

Kline has pleaded not guilty to the charges. But a federal judge concluded that Kline posed a threat to young children and placed him under house arrest. She also required that he wear a monitoring device on his ankle.

* John Adams, 50, of Dana Point is a longtime attorney and businessman. When he launched his campaign, his Web site listed “more than 20 years of service” as a lawyer. But from 1982 to 1990 he allowed his bar membership to lapse by not paying dues, which are currently $390 a year.

Adams said he worked as a businessman during that period as well as three more years in the late 1990s. He said he has modified his Web site to reflect the proper dates.

“I think that’s a reasonable characterization,” he said of the information on the Web site. “It’s like being a doctor--once you pass the bar you are an attorney.”

Adams has been involved in city and county coastal water issues and serves as a judge pro tem in Orange County Superior Court.

“I think that’s what voters want in a judge--someone who has a broad life experience, both in employment and the community. I will bring to the bench a perspective and dynamic that the court needs,” he said.

* Dan C. Dutcher, 70, of Santa Ana has already spent some time on the bench--12 years in Westminster court until being unseated by a challenger in 1994. Since then, he has practiced law out of his home, concentrating mainly on criminal defense. But being a judge is more satisfying than being an attorney, Dutcher said.

“As an attorney you take sides,” he said, “but as a judge you can sit back, hope you’re being objective, and do what’s right. I’m a good listener, and I don’t really give a darn how the case turns out. I think that too many decisions, at all levels, are too result-oriented rather than based on applying the law to the facts and coming down on which side you think is right. We all have biases, but those biases shouldn’t decide a case.”

Labor Lawyer, Judge, Family Law Facilitator

* Harris E. Kershnar, 48, of Irvine has been a practicing labor attorney for 23 years. He also teaches other lawyers seeking continuing education, has worked as an arbitrator in labor and securities disputes and earned a listing in last year’s Best Lawyers in America.

He said he would be effective because he has “the attributes people look for in a judge. I’m very analytical, I’m objective, and I have an even temperament.”

* Barry Kohn, 58, of Laguna Beach is the only openly gay candidate vying for Kline’s seat. He said he has a special feeling for the diversity likely to face an Orange County judge. It has been fostered by 20 years on the bench as a California Superior and Municipal Court commissioner in Los Angeles, he said, during which he has overseen a variety of cases including preliminary hearings, arraignments, jury and nonjury criminal trials, civil trials and civil motions.

“Administration is one of my strong points,” Kohn said. “I have experience and judicial abilities. I think it’s very important for the attorneys and parties to see that I am fair, impartial and articulate.”

* Marilyn W. Mirano, 62, of Laguna Beach has been an attorney for 21 years focusing primarily on civil family and personal injury matters. Since 1997 she has been a family law facilitator in Orange County Superior Court, where she helps self-represented litigants navigate the court system.

“I think I have the talent and experience to do some real good for Orange County,” Mirano says. “In particular, I’d like to restore some dignity and decorum to the office that has been eroded.”

* Terese S. Oliver, 49, of Orange has been an Anaheim city prosecutor for 17 years and said she has sent a number of criminals to jail for offenses including drunk driving, possession and use of drugs, domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon. “In the last 19 years, I have spent virtually every day inside a courtroom,” she said. “I think I’d be a very good judge. I have a judicial temperament, and I have all the mechanics down--how to operate a calendar, budget your time and accomplish your goals. I live and breathe the evidence code, I know how to rule, and I think I’m very fair.”

* Dale J. Peroutka, 62, of Fountain Valley is a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who has had a general legal practice for 25 years and works as an arbitrator for Orange County Superior Court and the Orange County Bar Assn. “I don’t specialize,” he said, “just try to help people as I can.”

One former client, however, complained to the State Bar Assn. that the lawyer’s help in a 1996 personal injury case had its limits--after settling the case for $14,000, she said, he misappropriated $6,200 of it that was supposed to pay off her medical bills. According to court documents, Peroutka admitted the misappropriation but said that it was a mistake. The bar association, on the other hand, called it “moral turpitude” and recommended his disbarment.

The case is pending.

Asked about the matter Peroutka called it an “isolated” incident. “These things happen,” he said. “I’ve taken steps to correct it.”

* Karen Robinson, 38, is a Costa Mesa council member. As head of litigation for the California State University system and a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court since 1994, she said, she has been involved in a variety of cases.

“I am very comfortable in the courtroom,” she said. “I have a tremendous amount of experience taking evidence, hearing and examining witnesses, and maintaining proper courtroom decorum. I do believe I have the appropriate temperament for a judge--very calm, cool and collected. I think you have to be tough and courteous, prepared and knowledgeable and, above all, prepared to do the right thing based on the law and the evidence presented.”

Trial Lawyer, Ex-Cop and Civil Attorney

* Gay Sandoval, 49, of Costa Mesa is a trial lawyer and former prosecutor who, as a deputy district attorney for 10 years, built cases against child molesters, abusers, deadbeat parents, drunk drivers, drug users and scam artists. She has also worked as a judge pro tem in county courts and has represented small-business owners as a private attorney for 12 years.

“I think the perspective I bring is that I’ve had a lot of experience with a lot of different types of people--younger people, older people, people of all ethnicities, religions and economic strata,” she said. “If you don’t understand something, you tend to be afraid of it. I’m pretty patient, even in Small Claims cases; everybody has to tell their story and not always in the most organized fashion.”

* James D. Stone, 60, is a former Anaheim police officer who lives in Trabuco Canyon. He has spent 19 years as a trial attorney handling criminal, civil and family disputes. “I’m a hard worker,” he said. “I put in long hours, and I think that’s what the judicial bench needs.”

Thirty years ago, he was instrumental in forming the Anaheim Police Department’s first crime unit specializing in sex crimes, including molestation. Since then, Stone said, he’s been steadily expanding his horizons.

“I love the law, love being a trial attorney, love court,” he said.

* William M. Vlosky, 44, of San Clemente is a civil attorney specializing in cases involving motor vehicles, personal liability and injury, medical malpractice and insurance. He also serves as an arbitrator for Orange County courts, a position he has held for five years.

“Integrity is everything when you’re talking about going after someone who hasn’t shown a lot,” he said. “I know I would be good because I have civil experience, and a large part of the bench is devoted to civil law. There is a lot of technical nuance--you’ve got to know areas of medicine, civil engineering and business--stuff I deal with every day. What I want to do is restore integrity to the office.”

To select a write-in candidate at the ballot box, voters must write the candidate’s name in the space directly below Kline’s on the ballot, then punch the “X” to the right of the name.Registrar Rosalyn Lever suggested that voters writing in a candidate do so as legibly as possible. “As long as we can make out who it is,” she said, “we will count it.”

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Times staff writer Jack Leonard contributed to this report.