Monday, January 14, 2008
Page 3
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradford L. Andrews Retires
By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradford L. Andrews has retired after 20 years on the bench.
Andrews, 63, sat in Long Beach prior to his retirement, which was effective last Monday. Reached Friday during a visit to the chambers of his wife, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Deborah B. Andrews, he told the MetNews that he plans to continue to hear cases by assignment and has no intention of practicing law.
Deborah Andrews said her husband retired because he had reached the requisite age and number of years worked, and because he has “so many other interests that he doesn’t have time for,” including overseeing construction of the couple’s new home.
Andrews was appointed to the Long Beach Municipal Court in 1987 by then-Gov. George Deukmejian. He was elected to the position in 1990, and then re-elected in 1996, before it was converted to a Superior Court judgeship in 2000.
He attended grammar school in West Covina, and high school in Sacramento before earning a degree in economics from Long Beach State College (now California State University, Long Beach) in 1967. After college, he joined the Long Beach Police Department in 1968 as a patrol officer, rising through the ranks to the level of sergeant, and then lieutenant.
Andrews earned a masters degree in public administration from USC in 1976 while still with the department, and then graduated from Whittier College Law School in Los Angeles in 1982. He was admitted to the State Bar of California that year, and left the police force to enter private practice with his wife.
After his appointment to the bench, Andrews became the Superior Court’s assistant presiding judge in 1989, and then served as presiding judge from 1990 to 1991. He served as assistant supervising judge of the South District in 2001, and later became supervising judge in 2003.
Andrews, who was still “cleaning out” his chambers Friday, said that he hoped to be remembered as a “fair” judge who listened to people and made good decisions.
“Obviously,” he said, “if you make decisions for long enough, you’re bound to make a mistake. The best you can hope for is that it’s harmless. But if people perceive that you listen and try to make the best decision under the circumstances, then they are usually satisfied.”
Andrews’ seat is up for election this year, but the governor can preempt the vote by appointing a successor prior to the nominations period, which begins Feb. 11. The appointee would not have to run until 2010.
Copyright 2008, Metropolitan News Company