Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Judge Calls for Judicial Referee in Libel Case
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A judge ruled Wednesday that a judicial referee will oversee pretrial depositions in a $3-million libel suit filed by a Municipal Court judge.
Superior Court Judge William McDonald said the referee is necessary because the rancor between attorneys representing Municipal Court Judge James Brooks and the man he sued has hampered the case.
“You two are more interested in stacking up points against the other and not getting this case resolved,” McDonald admonished the two laywers from the bench. “You have some serious chemistry problems.”
Brooks filed a $3-million libel suit against Long Beach prosecutor Paul Robbins, whom he defeated in 1986 judicial elections, for defaming him in campaign literature. The suit is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 7.
Brooks claims that Robbins lied when he told voters Brooks was almost fired by Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks while a deputy in his office for “misappropriating county property for political purposes.”
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