Judges and Judiciary
Jul. 26, 2002
Wit, Pragmatism on the Bench
SAN JOSE - "If we don't pick him up, he's going to kill his wife." The bearer of this chilling message is a deputy county sheriff who has just marched in to the chambers of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Joseph H. Huber.
Joseph H. Huber
Judge
Santa Clara County Superior Court
Career Highlights: Appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Gray Davis, Nov. 28, 2000; attorney, Huber-Samuelson (and predecessor firm, Gassett, Perry & Frank), 1968-2000. Palo Alto mayor, 1997.
Law School: Stanford University, 1967
Age: 59
The bearer of this chilling message is a deputy county sheriff who has just marched in to the chambers of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Joseph H. Huber.
The sheriff, all crew-cut business and khaki authority, wants Huber to sign an arrest warrant for the man. As the judge examines the document, the officer takes the opportunity for a little lobbying, telling Huber a bit about the suspect's unsavory and apparently violent history.
Huber quickly scribbles his name on the paper, which the deputy snatches as he hastens out the door in a blur of leather, plastic and official attitude.
It's the kind of vignette Huber, a former civil litigator and local political figure, finds himself playing out frequently these days. He is one of three judges on the Santa Clara County bench handling nothing but domestic violence cases from start to finish.
"Arraign 'em, try 'em, sentence 'em," he said in a recent interview, describing the duties of the domestic violence judge.
Huber has been on the Santa Clara bench since December 2000, following his appointment by Gov. Gray Davis.
On a more reflective note, Huber said, the fact that it takes a trio of full-time judges to handle all the domestic violence cases is "probably a sad commentary on what goes on in the world." In just one two-week period, he said, he might face more than 60 scheduled jury trials.
"You try to settle as many as you can," he said.
The domestic violence cases he handles can run the gamut from gruesome to mundane. Key-scratching a spouse's car in a fit of anger can draw an arrest under state law, which has been tightened with the increased sensitivity to domestic violence in recent years.
First offenses often draw a sentence that requires the offender to attend a 52-week course of violence-prevention classes. Sometimes, there may be jail and other sanctions, depending on the severity of the incident.
Huber expressed some skepticism about the system. Many of the people he sees in his courtroom have other problems coping with the world around them, including drug and alcohol abuse.
"Sometimes when you look at it and you realize what it is that they have to do, you have to ask yourself whether we're setting them up to fail or not," he said.
No doubt few of Huber's long-time acquaintances would be surprised at that expression of pragmatic skepticism. Often, they cite his prairie upbringing - he was born in Ohio, reared in Iowa and earned his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame - for what they see as his solid approach to life.
"He's got what they call Midwestern standards," said Palo Alto Mayor Victor Ojakian, who has known Huber for 25 years. "He's got a certain value set that's strong and stands out."
Huber himself capped a lengthy career in local politics by serving a standard one-year term as Palo Alto mayor in 1997. He was a member of the city council from 1991 through 1999, when he had to step down because of term limits.
He said he's not quite sure what people mean when they talk about his roots, but he thinks it may have something to do with his political philosophy, which he describes as socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Plus, he said he likes to see things actually get done.
"If the barn burns down, you put it back up. You don't study it," he said. It is a philosophy, he conceded, that "drove the consultants crazy" during his time on the city council.
It was at the end of that term, which saw the wealthy Stanford University community wrestle with enormously controversial growth issues, that he began thinking about his future in public service. Becoming a judge seemed a natural fit.
For decades, Huber had practiced civil litigation at the same firm - although it changed names through the years, finally bearing his as Huber-Samuelson. There, he specialized in construction defect defense and, later, as a special master and mediator throughout the Bay Area.
"That just attests to his evenhandedness," said former partner Peter Samuelson. It's a sentiment that draws agreement even from those who once opposed him.
"I wish all judges would have his temperament," said San Jose attorney Richard White, who often represented plaintiffs against Huber's clients. While such litigation could become tense and emotional, Huber would not let things get too serious.
"I could never put my best foot forward because he would always have you off-balance ... with his sense of humor," said White.
That wit is still very much a part of Huber's demeanor, as when he describes his Iowa hometown of Fort Atkinson, where for three generations the Huber family has run the general store.
"Today it has 375 people in it. When I was there it had 325," Huber deadpanned. "It's booming."
As if to remind himself of his roots, Huber displays on his wall a large framed sign advertising the store.
"Ask For Munsing Wear Union Suits," the miniature billboard proclaims.
Huber also remembers fondly his days as mayor of Palo Alto, the politically involved college town "where most of the those people have two more degrees than you do." At times, Huber said, as many as 300 people would show up on particularly hot issues, including in their number some unusual speakers.
His favorite, he said, was an eight-foot-tall owl that proceeded to read in Latin the names of all the species that allegedly would be threatened by a proposed development.
"I think I laughed hysterically through the whole thing," recalled Huber. He said the presentation was effective, however, since he still remembers it.
"I used to appreciate people with a sense of humor who ripped me in a good way," he said.
On the bench, Huber attempts to strike a balance between maintaining an orderly courtroom and keeping the atmosphere as light as possible, given the subject of the cases before him.
"I take this business seriously, but I don't always take myself seriously," he said. While he said he doesn't "take umbrage at much that happens" in the courtroom, he still expects attorneys to adhere to some basic norms of behavior, such as getting witnesses to the court on time, particularly if a jury is present, and not trying to end-run rulings.
"He really is ... a pleasure to work with and he keeps his sense of humor," said Lisa Rogers, a Santa Clara deputy district attorney who often appears in Huber's courtroom. "There's very, very little humor in domestic violence."
Rogers also said that despite his relative inexperience on the criminal bench, Huber's lengthy history as a litigator gives him an edge.
"Don't try your old tricks because he's new," Rogers advised. "Attorneys aren't pulling the wool over his eyes."
Huber has no regrets about his decision to don the robe. A serious student of history - he spent a recent vacation tramping around Civil War battlefields - he relishes the fundamental issues that come before him.
"For me personally, it was a reviver," he said. "For the first time in 30 years I actually heard people talk about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights."
Besides, he said, the job has certain advantages over local politics.
"Short of the voters kicking you out," he said, "you don't have to leave."
Recent cases handled by Huber and the lawyers involved:
• People v. Pumpelly, CC24107
District attorney's office: Lisa Rogers
Public defender's office: Jose Badillo
• People v. Nguyen, CC12304
District attorney's office: Amir Alem
Public defender's office: Steven Naumchik
• People v. Prehl, CC99086
District attorney's office: Emmann Chan
Defense attorney's office: Lucy McAllister
• People v. Yan, CC0075565
District attorney's office: Lisa Rogers
Defense attorney's office: Earl Jiang
• People v. Supan, CC116920
District attorney's office: Terry Woodward
Public defender's office: Steven Naumchik
Dennis Pfaff
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