Judges and Judiciary
Aug. 15, 2002
Judge Is a Teacher for Jurists and the Community
SACRAMENTO - The presiding judge of Sacramento Superior Court is a climber. At age 53, he's one of the youngest presiding judges of a large county court system. But that's not what makes him a climber.
Michael T. Garcia
Sacramento County Superior Court, presiding judge
Sacramento
Career highlights: Elected presiding judge September 2001; elevated by Gov. George Deukmejian, 1989; appointed to municipal court by Deukmejian, 1987; deputy district attorney, Ventura County, 1974-81.
Law school: UC-Davis, 1974
Age: 53
At age 53, he's one of the youngest presiding judges of a large county court system. But that's not what makes him a climber.
No, Michael T. Garcia is a mountain bike enthusiast who tackles the rough-hewn escarpments of the nearby Sierra with the same confidence and abandon as he does the sticky, politically-hued issues that confront him in the halls of the courthouse.
He recently planned to spend a weekend riding the Mount Watson loop from Tahoe City to Lake Watson and back.
Garcia said he first became interested in the sport 15 years ago when his son, then 13, suggested they try it. Their first ride was to the Grouse Ridge lookout in the Tahoe National Forest.
"It was a little more intense than I anticipated," said Garcia, who was used to road biking. "Then we started riding together ... until he got too good."
The thrill of tackling a difficult path for Garcia also extends to judicial administration, said colleague Thomas E. Hollenhorst, associate justice of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside.
"Challenges make Mike tick," Hollenhorst said. "Coasting down a lazy river is not his style. He's the kind of guy who likes rapids because he'll smooth them out."
At the same time, Garcia is a "teddy bear," the justice said. "He's got a heart of gold. He always puts others' needs before his own."
Garcia was elected presiding judge, a two-year term, in September 2001. The job requires him to handle three calendars a week: the master civil trial calendar, a law and motion calendar for certain motions handled by the presiding judge, and an ex parte calendar.
He usually finishes the calendars by 10:30 a.m., then devotes the rest of the day to administrative obligations. In the evenings, he focuses on his duties as dean of the B.E. Witkin Judicial College, part of the Center for Judicial Education and Research, which in turn is part of the Administrative Office of the Courts. He also is chairman of its New Judges Education Committee, titles he assumed July 1.
Among his goals as presiding judge, he said, are codification of local policies and procedures, giving benefits to longtime temporary court employees and ensuring Sacramento's leadership in the judicial branch.
"We have many policies and procedures that have been oral," Garcia said. "I'd like to reduce all of these to written documents. It would be a great benefit to all of the members of the court, as well as the community."
He also said it seemed unfair that employees have held jobs in the courts for years without benefits because they are classified as temporary.
"I want to do the right thing," he said.
Garcia said he strives to include the local bar in decisions that could affect lawyers practicing in the county.
"We're always inventing new ideas of how to make the court more efficient, more streamlined, to help the users," he said. "It's about making the court serve the public better. Often we institute new rules statewide, and we like to include the bar and the community so it can be done with the minimum negative impact on them."
Garcia was born in Orange and raised in Santa Ana. His father was a general contractor; his mother, who had a community college degree, managed a drug store during World War II and then quit to raise Garcia and his two brothers. One brother, Jeff, followed his father into the construction trade, while the other, John, became a sought-after interior and exterior designer.
Both his brothers have college degrees, as do their wives.
"Both parents always urged all of us to get as much education as we could," Garcia said.
Garcia took their advice and stuffed himself with as much learning as he could.
At California State University, Fullerton, he usually took 18 units a semester, while working nights and weekends.
"I couldn't get enough," Garcia said of his education.
To this day, he remains intellectually curious and enjoys reading about nuclear physics, genetics and biology. He earned degrees in political science and sociology.
The judge had planned on teaching at the university level, but one of his professors urged him to consider law. Garcia said he chose UC-Davis because he wanted to know what life was like in a rural setting.
While pursuing his law degree, Garcia interned for a succession of state legislators. He graduated in 1974, and immediately joined the Ventura County district attorney's office because he wanted to become a trial lawyer.
Seven years later, he went to work for then-Attorney General George Deukmejian as a legislative liaison and encountered many of his former law-school colleagues who had found jobs as chiefs of staff and lobbyists.
"It was probably the most fun I ever had," Garcia said. "It was like a class reunion."
He began teaching law at Davis in 1982, but quit in 1987 to accept an appointment to the municipal court because "it looked interesting." He could not do both because he was not allowed to earn two state salaries.
Two years later he was appointed to the superior court, where he has worked every assignment except juvenile dependency.
Garcia and his wife, Kathleen, have four children, who range in age from 16 to 39.
Roger Dreyer, a plaintiffs lawyer with Sacramento's Dreyer, Babich, Buccola & Callaham, said he likes to appear before Garcia in court.
"He's the kind of person you want because you recognize he's going to listen and read everything," Dreyer said. "It's apparent it's very important to him to get it right the first time."
"He really is thorough and thoughtful and cares about others," Justice Ron Robie, of the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento, said of Garcia. "He's got an enormous capacity for work in doing complicated trials and being a major player in the education of judges."
The New Judges Education Committee is looking into establishing a program for new judges on single subject assignments, to teach new judges what they need to know in trial management and communication, Garcia said.
As dean of the Judicial College, he is heading a project to find a new physical site for the college, which must move because of a seismic retrofit project.
Garcia is particularly careful to ensure that defendants and witnesses understand what is happening in court and don't just get pushed through, said Deputy District Attorney Alberto Roldan.
For example, if a participant says he doesn't need a translator, but looks confused, Garcia will ask him to explain what he thinks he just heard. After a trial, Garcia will tell a young attorney what he did well and where he needs to improve, without advocating for one side of the case or the other, Roldan said.
"He's concerned that attorneys get better as they go on," he said. "He's just a fundamentally decent person. He's not a judge who's a big climber."
Garcia said he wants to make the judicial branch more accessible and comprehensible to those who use it.
"The court system is struggling and striving to become much easier to understand," Garcia said. "We're rewriting forms in plain English. We have help centers now so people have a much better understanding of how to resolve their problems in court: how to get started, how to present information, how to get it reviewed. We're putting together programs to go out in the community and get the community to help the court explain what it can do to help the process."
Mike Neves, a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, said Garcia "should teach the course for judicial demeanor."
"He's just a quiet leader," Dreyer said. "You never get any sense he's pressured, uptight or worried."
He described Garcia as a "really firm decision maker."
"He's not the kind of guy to go with the status quo," Dreyer said. "He's not going to keep people in positions simply because they are senior judges. He'll give assignments based on ability. He's not a flashy guy - just a very genuine, quality human being."
Here are some of Garcia's recent cases and the lawyers involved:
In the matter of Jones, 91352
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Valerie Brown, Sacramento
Defense: Public Defender Steven Lewis, Sacramento
People v. Kambon, 98F09833
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Leslie Ann Monahan, Sacramento
Defense: Sole practitioner Keith J. Staten, Sacramento
People v. Banks, 99F03342
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Rodney D. Norgaard, Sacramento
Defense: Sole practitioner Michael G. Bowman, Sacramento
People v. Barron, 95F06061
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney John O'Mara, Sacramento
Defense: Public Defenders Donald L. Manning and Eluid M. Romero, Sacramento.
Linda Rapattoni
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