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Judge Karlan Leaves L.A. Superior Court
Was, for Three Years, Youngest Judge in California; Four Other Judges to Retire
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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CRAIG D. KARLAN Los Angeles Superior Court Judge |
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan’s last day on the bench was yesterday, and he will officially retire tomorrow after using up two earned vacation days.
Four other members of the court will soon be leaving the bench this month. They are Judges Christine Byrd, her last day in a black robe will be March 17 but whose tenure will end April 11; Nancy L. Newman, whose last day will be March 10, but with an April 21 retirement date; Dennis J. Landin, who will leave March 24 but will officially retire on March 31; and Yolanda Orozco, who will actually retire March 21 but remain a member of the court until May 5.
Karlan, 56, said he will be working as a private neutral, handling mediations, arbitrations, and references.
When Karlan, then a deputy district attorney, was appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Gray Davis in 2002, he became the state’s youngest judge, a distinction he held for three years.
Judge Title
He was assigned to the Santa Monica Courthouse in the court’s West District. Also sitting there, on assignment, was a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge, Julius Title, who was in his 80s.
Karlan recounted:
“We were so fully staffed back then that Santa Monica didn’t have enough courtrooms for all the judges when I was first assigned there. So I shared a tiny, little courtroom—it was really, really tiny—with Judge Title; we even shared our chambers. The youngest and the oldest Judges in the state shared a courtroom!
“I loved every second I got to spend with Julie, ‘JT’ to his friends. I learned from him, and I laughed with him. He was a judicial giant even in his 80s. He was simply the best! What an amazing place for a young judge to begin his judicial career.
“Lunches with JT and Judge Paul Flynn were unforgettable. I was so lucky to have been surrounded by so many luminaries in the early part of my judicial career; I will forever cherish those times.”
High-Profile Cases
The judge, whose law degree is from Harvard, has presided over various high-profile cases including an action by a woman against comedian Bill Cosby based on a sexual battery on her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was age 16 years (with the jury awarding the plaintiff $500,000 in damages). He tossed a lawsuit brought by the City of Oakland against the National Football League over the move by the Raiders, and was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Also affirmed was his order appointing a receiver to oversee the demolition of a “megamansion” in Bel Air an action brought by neighboring landowner John Bedrosian, a businessman and philanthropist. Karlan ruled that the huge structure was a “danger to the public.
Karlan was reversed last year by Div. Seven of this district’s Court of Appeal. The judge followed precedent in holding that a hotel and restaurant that were shuttered owing to the COVID-19 pandemic were not entitled to receive insurance payments based on real property damage, but the appeals court ordered the dismissed action reinstated.
Among Karlan’s memories is an incident that occurred when he was in the Probate Department. He recounted yesterday:
“I was auctioning a piece of commercial property just outside Beverly Hills. The overbidding process was frantic, to say the least, with multiple overbidders. Ultimately, the property sold for twice the initial sales price.
“When I banged my gavel to indicate ‘SOLD,’ an older man in the audience stood up and began playing a clarinet (or similar instrument). It sounded like a Klezmer band was playing in my courtroom, as he danced between the aisles, playing with joy.
“My bailiff asked me if he should take the musical instrument from the man. I responded, ‘Only if you can play as well as he can!’ My bailiff couldn’t and he didn’t.
“Eventually, the man played his way into the hallway. The property sold for several million over the listing price. It was a happy and unforgettable day!”
Other Recollections
Karlan reflected:
“Getting to know so many lawyers and their clients through the countless mandatory settlement conferences I handled over the past 20 years in civil, probate and family law was also a something I truly enjoyed. I enjoy meeting people, I have a great deal of respect for the law, and I love problem solving. That’s why I always tried to keep one slot a week for settlement conferences throughout my career.
“As I was cleaning out my chambers today, though, I came across correspondence from couples whom I had the honor of presiding over their wedding ceremonies, and self-represented litigants who I successfully convinced to become lawyers. It means so much to me that I was able to use my position to have a positive influence on others.”
He added:
“Finally, as I packed my belongings, I remembered that my two bench gavels are broken. Ironically, I never banged either one in open court, other than at the conclusion of a Probate auction. My courtroom, though, was a regular on the grade school circuit. Maybe it had to do with me being so young in the beginning of my career, but regardless, I always enjoyed showing the world of law to grade schoolers. They, in turn, loved to bang my gavels. I will forever cherish my two broken gavels.”
Copyright 2023, Metropolitan News Company