News
Judges and Judiciary
Mar. 4, 2002
Judge Places Himself in Defendants' Shoes
RIVERSIDE - Judge Helios "Joe" Hernandez says he developed more empathy toward criminal defendants in his first year on the Riverside bench than he did in his 20 years as a prosecutor.
Helios "Joe" Hernandez II
Superior Court Judge
Riverside
Career highlights: Appointed by Gov. Gray Davis to Riverside Superior Court, 2001; supervising deputy district attorney, Riverside County, 1989-2000; deputy district attorney, 1980-89; sole practitioner, 1978-79; legislative analyst, 1973-78
Military: U.S. Navy, 1967-70
Law school: USC Law School
Age: 57
By Jason W. Armstrong
Daily Journal Staff Writer
RIVERSIDE - Judge Helios "Joe" Hernandez says he developed more empathy toward criminal defendants in his first year on the Riverside bench than he did in his 20 years as a prosecutor.
The judge, who began a trial assignment last month after a year on the preliminary hearing calendar, said he tries to put himself in the shoes of each defendant who appears before him and is apt to grant continuances to attorneys so they can advise their clients thoroughly before proceedings.
"[Defendants] aren't just numbers," Hernandez, appointed by Gov. Gray Davis in January 2001, said recently. "They are people, with needs like anyone else, even though they may have committed a crime."
In his brief time on the bench, prosecutors and defense lawyers who have appeared before the good-natured, 57-year-old jurist say he consistently maintains a calm and collected demeanor despite an assignment last year to a heavy preliminary hearing calendar described by attorneys as a "madhouse."
The assignment, which often included more than 100 cases a day, was a "very good test" of Hernandez's demeanor, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Lomazow, who appeared in preliminary cases before the judge several times a week last year.
"More than legal knowledge, most attorneys are sensitive to wanting a judge with a good demeanor," Lomazow said. "In [Hernandez's] courtroom, you feel comfortable, and you know he won't go out of his way to embarrass you.
"This calendar was a real test of whether the judge could maintain his composure, and I think he passed it with flying colors," Lomazow said.
Hernandez was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Santa Ana, the son of a biochemist father and a mother who worked as assistant to the chancellor at the University of California, Irvine.
He got his first taste of law in the summer between his junior and senior years in high school when he attended the American Legion-sponsored Boys State program, which gives high-school boys leadership experience through an up-close look at government proceedings.
Gathering with other teens in Sacramento, Hernandez played the role of a Supreme Court justice in a case involving the Whig and the Federalist parties from the Revolutionary era.
"That experience put a career in law in the back of my mind," Hernandez said.
After graduating from Stanford University in 1967 with a degree in journalism, Hernandez joined the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam.
A lieutenant, Hernandez served as public affairs officer aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, writing press releases about dignitaries who visited the ship and compiling other information for the ship's newspaper.
He also served as a search and rescue assistant and as a member of the Navy's Administrative Discharge Board.
After his discharge in 1970, Hernandez attended USC Law School. He worked for the Los Angeles Daily Journal during his second year of law school, writing rulings summaries that appeared on the front page of the newspaper.
Hernandez earned his law degree in 1973. He spent several years as a legislative analyst, first for an ad hoc committee of the Cabinet looking at the impact of legislation on Hispanics and then for the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. In 1978, he returned to California and opened a general private practice in Santa Ana.
Hernandez joined the Riverside district attorney's office in January 1980, prosecuting more than 80 jury trials and more than 100 felony court trials in his first decade with the office.
He became a supervisor in 1990, after which he oversaw the juvenile, filing and preliminary hearings divisions of the office.
Hernandez prosecuted a string of cases with fascinating twists and turns, including a 1986 burglary case in which he obtained a guilty verdict against a defendant found hiding under a table in the home of Riverside's mayor.
A 1983 child molestation case still gives him the willies. At one point during the trial, Hernandez saw the defendant's mother, a native of southern Mexico, sneak up behind the district attorney's courtroom assistant and try to cut some of her long black hair to make voodoo dolls to cast spells over the judge and the prosecution.
Hernandez stopped the woman from cutting his assistant's hair, and the jury later convicted the defendant of molesting his daughter and two nieces and beating his wife.
To get that conviction, Hernandez had to take a significant risk, beyond the threat of voodoo. He presented as his star witness the defendant's 5-year-old niece, who testified that the defendant molested his two nieces and 3-year-old daughter.
"The burden of proving the case fell on the 5-year-old with corroboration by the medical doctor," Hernandez later wrote in a summary of the case.
The defendant was convicted of child molestation and assault.
After his appointment to the bench early last year, Hernandez served for two months as a trial judge in Perris. He presided over a preliminary hearing calendar in Riverside from March 2001 until last month.
Deputy Public Defender Evelyn Cordner, who appeared before Hernandez several times a week on his preliminary hearing calendar, said the judge has a "great deal of compassion."
"If a prosecutor wants to send a young kid to prison for a first offense, [Hernandez] will take into consideration the youth of the offender and give the kid a chance to turn around," Cordner said.
Cordner said she has seen Hernandez keep his cool in stressful situations, including the time an attorney mouthed off at him during proceedings.
"I thought this attorney was acting very rudely toward [Hernandez]," Cordner said. "But the judge kept his patience, even when confronted with disrespect."
Another example of Hernandez's sensitivity toward people in his courtroom is the way he handles cases against young defendants trying to get into the military who have been charged with crimes such as bar fights, theft or driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Deputy District Attorney Matt Hardy.
"[Hernandez] will try to facilitate their getting into the military rather than nailing them with a felony and possibly eliminating any chance they have," Hardy said.
"He does a very good job of moving cases through and accommodating everyone," Hardy added. "You always know he is listening to you, and you feel okay with his decisions, even if they don't go in your favor."
Hernandez taught criminal law at La Sierra University from 1988 to 1992, and he chaired the criminal law section of the Riverside County Bar Association from 1994 to 1996.
He served as president of the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association in 1984, and he sat on the board of the Inland Counties Legal Services Corp. for more than a decade. He was vice president of the corporation from 1998 to 2000.
Hernandez also is past president of the Stanford Alumni Club of the Inland Empire.
High-school mock trial is probably one of Hernandez's biggest passions off the bench. He has been a member of the local bar association's mock trial committee since 1992, and he chaired it from 1993 to 1994.
Hernandez currently is judicial coordinator of the county's program.
"It's an extremely rewarding experience," Hernandez said of his involvement in mock trial. "We've had great results with the Riverside competitions, and it's great to see some of these kids go on to become attorneys and do well in later years.
"I'm proud that I'm able to help them," he said.
Hernandez lives in Riverside with his wife, Gloria A. Lopez, coordinator of early academic outreach at the University of California, Riverside. The couple's son, Joe, is an anthropology student at the university.
Here are some of Judge Lopez's recent cases and the lawyers involved:
• People v. Posades, RIF097166
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Jack Lucky
Defense: Attorney Amador L. Corona, Santa Ana
• People v. Hendershot, RIF099231
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Jack Lucky
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Kathryn Manis
• People v. Holt, RIF092478
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney John Aki
Defense: Elisa Castro, sole practitioner, Riverside
• People v. Vezina, RIF098061
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Matt Hardy
Defense: Daniel A. Ditlof, sole practitioner, Northridge
• People v. Bousman, RIF100893
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Patrick Harvill
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Samra Roth
• People v. McDaniel, RIF099798
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney John Davis
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Ted Williams and Alan Sandquist, Santa Monica
Superior Court Judge
Riverside
Career highlights: Appointed by Gov. Gray Davis to Riverside Superior Court, 2001; supervising deputy district attorney, Riverside County, 1989-2000; deputy district attorney, 1980-89; sole practitioner, 1978-79; legislative analyst, 1973-78
Military: U.S. Navy, 1967-70
Law school: USC Law School
Age: 57
The judge, who began a trial assignment last month after a year on the preliminary hearing calendar, said he tries to put himself in the shoes of each defendant who appears before him and is apt to grant continuances to attorneys so they can advise their clients thoroughly before proceedings.
"[Defendants] aren't just numbers," Hernandez, appointed by Gov. Gray Davis in January 2001, said recently. "They are people, with needs like anyone else, even though they may have committed a crime."
In his brief time on the bench, prosecutors and defense lawyers who have appeared before the good-natured, 57-year-old jurist say he consistently maintains a calm and collected demeanor despite an assignment last year to a heavy preliminary hearing calendar described by attorneys as a "madhouse."
The assignment, which often included more than 100 cases a day, was a "very good test" of Hernandez's demeanor, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Lomazow, who appeared in preliminary cases before the judge several times a week last year.
"More than legal knowledge, most attorneys are sensitive to wanting a judge with a good demeanor," Lomazow said. "In [Hernandez's] courtroom, you feel comfortable, and you know he won't go out of his way to embarrass you.
"This calendar was a real test of whether the judge could maintain his composure, and I think he passed it with flying colors," Lomazow said.
Hernandez was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Santa Ana, the son of a biochemist father and a mother who worked as assistant to the chancellor at the University of California, Irvine.
He got his first taste of law in the summer between his junior and senior years in high school when he attended the American Legion-sponsored Boys State program, which gives high-school boys leadership experience through an up-close look at government proceedings.
Gathering with other teens in Sacramento, Hernandez played the role of a Supreme Court justice in a case involving the Whig and the Federalist parties from the Revolutionary era.
"That experience put a career in law in the back of my mind," Hernandez said.
After graduating from Stanford University in 1967 with a degree in journalism, Hernandez joined the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam.
A lieutenant, Hernandez served as public affairs officer aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, writing press releases about dignitaries who visited the ship and compiling other information for the ship's newspaper.
He also served as a search and rescue assistant and as a member of the Navy's Administrative Discharge Board.
After his discharge in 1970, Hernandez attended USC Law School. He worked for the Los Angeles Daily Journal during his second year of law school, writing rulings summaries that appeared on the front page of the newspaper.
Hernandez earned his law degree in 1973. He spent several years as a legislative analyst, first for an ad hoc committee of the Cabinet looking at the impact of legislation on Hispanics and then for the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. In 1978, he returned to California and opened a general private practice in Santa Ana.
Hernandez joined the Riverside district attorney's office in January 1980, prosecuting more than 80 jury trials and more than 100 felony court trials in his first decade with the office.
He became a supervisor in 1990, after which he oversaw the juvenile, filing and preliminary hearings divisions of the office.
Hernandez prosecuted a string of cases with fascinating twists and turns, including a 1986 burglary case in which he obtained a guilty verdict against a defendant found hiding under a table in the home of Riverside's mayor.
A 1983 child molestation case still gives him the willies. At one point during the trial, Hernandez saw the defendant's mother, a native of southern Mexico, sneak up behind the district attorney's courtroom assistant and try to cut some of her long black hair to make voodoo dolls to cast spells over the judge and the prosecution.
Hernandez stopped the woman from cutting his assistant's hair, and the jury later convicted the defendant of molesting his daughter and two nieces and beating his wife.
To get that conviction, Hernandez had to take a significant risk, beyond the threat of voodoo. He presented as his star witness the defendant's 5-year-old niece, who testified that the defendant molested his two nieces and 3-year-old daughter.
"The burden of proving the case fell on the 5-year-old with corroboration by the medical doctor," Hernandez later wrote in a summary of the case.
The defendant was convicted of child molestation and assault.
After his appointment to the bench early last year, Hernandez served for two months as a trial judge in Perris. He presided over a preliminary hearing calendar in Riverside from March 2001 until last month.
Deputy Public Defender Evelyn Cordner, who appeared before Hernandez several times a week on his preliminary hearing calendar, said the judge has a "great deal of compassion."
"If a prosecutor wants to send a young kid to prison for a first offense, [Hernandez] will take into consideration the youth of the offender and give the kid a chance to turn around," Cordner said.
Cordner said she has seen Hernandez keep his cool in stressful situations, including the time an attorney mouthed off at him during proceedings.
"I thought this attorney was acting very rudely toward [Hernandez]," Cordner said. "But the judge kept his patience, even when confronted with disrespect."
Another example of Hernandez's sensitivity toward people in his courtroom is the way he handles cases against young defendants trying to get into the military who have been charged with crimes such as bar fights, theft or driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Deputy District Attorney Matt Hardy.
"[Hernandez] will try to facilitate their getting into the military rather than nailing them with a felony and possibly eliminating any chance they have," Hardy said.
"He does a very good job of moving cases through and accommodating everyone," Hardy added. "You always know he is listening to you, and you feel okay with his decisions, even if they don't go in your favor."
Hernandez taught criminal law at La Sierra University from 1988 to 1992, and he chaired the criminal law section of the Riverside County Bar Association from 1994 to 1996.
He served as president of the Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Association in 1984, and he sat on the board of the Inland Counties Legal Services Corp. for more than a decade. He was vice president of the corporation from 1998 to 2000.
Hernandez also is past president of the Stanford Alumni Club of the Inland Empire.
High-school mock trial is probably one of Hernandez's biggest passions off the bench. He has been a member of the local bar association's mock trial committee since 1992, and he chaired it from 1993 to 1994.
Hernandez currently is judicial coordinator of the county's program.
"It's an extremely rewarding experience," Hernandez said of his involvement in mock trial. "We've had great results with the Riverside competitions, and it's great to see some of these kids go on to become attorneys and do well in later years.
"I'm proud that I'm able to help them," he said.
Hernandez lives in Riverside with his wife, Gloria A. Lopez, coordinator of early academic outreach at the University of California, Riverside. The couple's son, Joe, is an anthropology student at the university.
Here are some of Judge Lopez's recent cases and the lawyers involved:
• People v. Posades, RIF097166
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Jack Lucky
Defense: Attorney Amador L. Corona, Santa Ana
• People v. Hendershot, RIF099231
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Jack Lucky
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Kathryn Manis
• People v. Holt, RIF092478
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney John Aki
Defense: Elisa Castro, sole practitioner, Riverside
• People v. Vezina, RIF098061
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Matt Hardy
Defense: Daniel A. Ditlof, sole practitioner, Northridge
• People v. Bousman, RIF100893
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney Patrick Harvill
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Samra Roth
• People v. McDaniel, RIF099798
Prosecution: Deputy District Attorney John Davis
Defense: Deputy Public Defender Ted Williams and Alan Sandquist, Santa Monica
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Jason Armstrong & Sean Windle
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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