Kamins’ court
She walked into the courtroom dressed in a wrinkled jail jumpsuit, looking pale from the fear of the unknown. Her greasy auburn hair was pulled over one shoulder, revealing brown eyes that looked heavy from a lack of sleep.
“What’s going to happen to me?” the 20 year-old methamphetamine addict desperately asked her attorney, as Judge Barnard J. Kamins informed her that she would have to spend another two days in jail for drug possession. She had hoped to be released that day, but Kamins rejected a deal proposed by the defense.
After serving six years as the presiding judge of the West District Drug Court Program, Kamins was familiar with the signs of addiction and knew that if he would have released the woman shifting anxiously, she would be back on the streets within hours shooting meth instead of entering a drug rehabilitation program, something which she had been ordered to do just weeks earlier.
Kamins, known as one of the hardest working judges to serve on the bench, ordered the woman to remain in custody so she could observe drug court. It is his hope she will want to join the diversion program and turn her life around.
“All she wants to do is get out of jail and go do drugs,” Kamins said while eating his lunch, prepared by his wife, while sitting in his cardinal-and-gold-colored office (he’s a USC Law alum) on the ninth floor of the Airport Courthouse. “I let her out a couple of weeks ago and here she is back again. Here she is, a beautiful 20-year-old girl caught with a hypodermic needle shooting up drugs instead of being in college.”
Kamins, a fan of tough love, said that he could have easily let the woman go free and wash his hands clean; just another drug addict down the drain. But that’s not in the 63-year-old’s nature.
“I’ll never take the easy way out,” he said, as he looked over a stack of court cases stacked on his desk, each one representing a participant in the drug court Kamins monitors to see if they are working towards recovery. “Everybody is so darn into recycling. You see all these bins everywhere and all these campaigns reminding people to recycle. But nobody is into recycling people. With the drug court, we have an opportunity to recycle people. Take those who are broken and show them some compassion. Now that’s not easy, but I feel like I have a duty to give something back to the community and that’s what I’m doing here.”
Judge Kamins, known by many as the ‘Teddy Bear’ for handing out stuffed bears to children of mothers who remained drug-free during their pregnancy, will have another opportunity to influence the lives of thousands while making Santa Monica a safer place to live. In the coming weeks, Kamins is expected to be named the supervising judge of the city’s new homeless court, which for a half-day each month will link repeat offenders with drug and alcohol counseling, health care and job training programs.
However, with the creation of the court comes more responsibility, and Kamins isn’t sure he can handle the additional workload.
“I’ve been drafted, mainly because (City Hall) thinks my temperament can handle it,” Kamins said. “But it’s taking on a another responsibility, because your day doesn’t end in the courtroom. You become a social worker. You have to get on the phone and contact the drug rehab programs, or the homeless services or mental health. By doing anywhere from 80 to 140 cases a day, to stop and just concentrate on one or two or three, it doesn’t give me any downtime. There’s no time for me to get to anything else.”
78F,A leader ever since his days as the chair UC Santa Barbara’s student court, and later as the president of his graduating law class and a supervisor in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, Kamins said he will most likely sign up for the court, adding to his list of responsibilities, which includes overseeing the drug court and all of Santa Monica’s misdemeanors, arraignments and pre-trial motions, including conflict resolution and settlements.
“I think I’ll do it to get it off the ground,” he said of the homeless court. “The City Attorney’s Office, along with Supervisor Ed Edelman, have worked so hard on getting this started, so I think it would only be right to lend a hand.”
In an expansive interview last week, Kamins opened up about his concerns with the homeless court, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and its early release program for non-violent offenders, his love of USC football and of his family.
What’s up with the robe? Do you like wearing it?
“Yes. You know where the tradition’s from? There used to be a robe and a wig and that’s because judges in the 15th, 16th century didn’t have carpools, taxies and buses to travel to the court. You were a judge living in the community you served. So you needed some anonymity, hence the wig and the robe. … It was sort of a disguise. The black is supposed to be a neutral color, which is why we don’t wear white robes or red robes. We got rid of the wigs, which is a good thing, but you still get recognized. As the judge for all of Santa Monica’s misdemeanors, I’ll get recognized while walking on the bike path or something. A lot of people recognize me, but don’t know from where. It’s a concern sometimes. You never know, they might get points for knocking off a judge. So I have to be careful. I’m protected her, but as soon as I drive out of here, I’m at risk. If we’re going to have homeless court in Santa Monica, I’ll need some security.”
What route did you take to wear the prestigious black robe?
“I was president of my graduating law class at SC and really had a choice to go into a big law firm and make a lot of money, or do public service. So, I became a public defender and served in that office for 17 years. I really loved being a public defender. The office had a lot of camaraderie … I started in the early days of the Vietnam War. I really was quite conservative and most would think that the public defenders would mostly be liberal. I was really conservative and thought that having the right to free speech, free press, was what we were fighting for in Vietnam. So those trying to squelch the protesters, I thought that was offensive. They were trying to squelch free speech … I became a public defender to defend people’s rights. Thinking I was so conservative, I guess I ended up on the liberal end. I just thought free speech was really important, even if those I defended were speaking out against the war. Some of the first clients I had as a lawyer were war protesters.”
What is the most interesting case you’ve had?
“I would have to say the Rodney King case was a real challenge. The issues presented by the case were very important. But the two most poignant cases I ever did though involved the killing of two teens. One involved the murder of a little girl in Santa Monica at the old mental health center on 13th Street by homeless men. It was many years ago, but still has a tremendous impact. That was really hard to do. It was this satanic cult living in the mental health center … They strangled this 14-year-old girl because of Satanic issues. When they tried the case, the foreman of the jury was a Catholic priest. And the defense let him stay on because they thought a Catholic priest would have a big heart and not convict someone of first-degree murder. The prosecution left the priest on because they had killed the girl for Satan. The jury voted guilty. The parents of the dead girl were there. That was hard.
Another was the murder of a young baseball player from Santa Monica who was shot in a drive by shooting. He was riding home from baseball practice and some gang members chased the car around until they were caught in a dead end. These gang members gunned him down, just because he was Hispanic in the wrong neighborhood. That case brought me to tears. Those two cases were severe on my psyche.”
Have you ever found it difficult to maintain that balance of lady justice in cases like those.
“As a public defender, I never had to be impartial because I was representing the best interests of my client. Being a judge is where you have to put everything else aside and just look at the law. It’s tough though. When the family of that young baseball player came to speak, they reminded the court that they will never get to see their son again, and they pulled out this picture and said, ‘Judge, this is how we celebrate Christmas with our son.’ And they showed me a picture of his grave with a Christmas tree on it, covered with decorations. It really made me want to cry, and judges can’t do that. We’re supposed to show no emotion. I just knew the tears were welling up in me and I just ran to my chambers and cried. I keep the picture under my blotter to remind me of my humility and humbleness. If you ever think things are going bad for you, just look at how these parents visit their kid every Christmas.”
Why continue with drug court?
“I could have retired last year and still received 75 percent of my salary to do nothing. But I really decided to stay for now — it’s a good feeling to know you can stop any day if you want — but I’m staying because I really like the drug court, helping all people get off this disease of drug abuse. I’ve had everyone from homeless people in my drug court to the vice presidents of major corporations, lawyers. They get busted too for drugs. There’s stock brokers, in fact I’ve got one now. Models, because they take cocaine to stay slim and then get addicted. School teachers, yep. Right now I’ve got two school teachers. When it comes to drug abuse, they’re all the same because of their problem. It doesn’t matter if your rich or poor. Kids in Bel Air are just as addicted as a kid coming up in a area filled with poverty …So, the reason I’m not retiring, is I love it, and secondly, because I really love my staff, and the prosecutors and defense lawyers all have been so great. That’s what keeps me in the job.”
What are youR hobbies?
“I love being with my wife and my family, especially now that were getting older. My wife Susan was a former school teacher and principal, so we were both really busy. We deserve some time together. We spend most of our time in Malibu … It’s kind of hard to go anywhere else because of the summer traffic. My two daughters live nearby, so we see them often. One of my daughters, Marni, she’s a writer living in Venice, and my other daughter Piper lives in Santa Monica and works for Chrysalis… I’m so proud of them. They’re my whole live. Well, then there’s SC. I’m a die-hard SC fan. Going to football games is how I get my stress out.”
You have season tickets?
“Oh yeah. On the 30, right under the press box …If you look at the way judges have to act in the community and in court, you know, you really have to have a lot of self control and patience. And when you go to a football game, you can get lost in the crowd and shout and scream and swear, and really come out of yourself, that is, as long as you don’t break the law. I go to all of the away games too. It gives me a chance to scream at the referees (laughs).”
You go to all the away games too?
“I’ve gone to most of the games over the last 15 years … Besides my wife, SC football is my passion.”
How did you decide to go into law? Was it a calling as a kid?
“Well, I was the head of the student court at UC Santa Barbara. First I was on it, then I was the chair of the student court … There you hear all kinds of student infractions, like cheating … There were really no drugs back then, except a little marijuana, but back then, that was a felony. One joint and you could go to prison.
Anyway, serving on the student court, I thought, ‘This is great. I really like doing this.’ That’s when I decided to be a judge. I really never wanted to be a lawyer … I just had a taste of being a judge and I really enjoyed the role.”
What about it fascinated you?
“The prestige, the honor, and I really wanted to do something to serve the community, to give back to the community, and being a judge was one way to give back … So I went to SC law. I majored in sociology at Santa Barbara, but they didn’t have a football team. They still don’t.”
Isn’t it frustrating at times though when you see the same people over and over again?
“Yes it is. Often times people living on the streets don’t want a place to live. All these do-gooders can try all the want to get them help, but half of them don’t want it … I had a guy that I tried to place in a bed over at the Salvation Army and he’s like, ‘Look judge, there’s no smoking, no drinking, no swearing, no fighting. I don’t want to go there. There’s too many rules.’ So what do you do, put him in jail because he’s sleeping on the sidewalk.”
Some would say yes, do it.
“Well, most of Santa Monica does. We have places to put homeless. A lot of them just don’t want to go. My disposition is instead of playing the game with the carrot and the stick, I’m willing to give them more of the carrot than the stick and try to be warmer to them, always courteous respectful and try to guide them through the process … The most frustrating thing is the sheriff’s early release program … I’m not being effective given jail time. Even if I got tough on people sleeping saying, ‘OK, you’re going to trial.’ You think a jury is going to sit here for days to try something sleeping on the promenade. Many in Santa Monica don’t want to hear that, but there’s a federal order saying that there has to be room in the jail for people to sleep. You can’t sleep standing up … I’ve had guys I’ve given sentences to for like 10 days in jail, and when I’m driving out, they are there at the corner drinking already at the liquor store. They’re out of the courthouse before me.”
So how do you feel about that?
“There’s nothing I can do. That’s not my job. Most of the judges are pretty upset with not having sentences upheld …There is a way to keep people in jail. If they violate probation, then you can hold them in jail until the next court date a week or two weeks away. Put the sentencing over and the jailer can hold them. If you give them a sentence right away, they’ll get right out.”
What is your relationship like with the City Attorney’s Office in Santa Monica?
“Fantastic. A plus. They’re great. I’ve never worked with finer prosecutors. I find them very hard working. Not that I have to kiss up to them. They kiss up to me (laughs). But in all honesty, they are really terrific and show excellent judgment. The community should be proud of the quality of people they have there. They are dedicated prosecutors. Look at what they’re up against. And those who represent the homeless, they’re wonderful too. If I didn’t have that I probably wouldn’t stay on. They enhance the quality of my life in court.”
Some may say why are you wasting your time with these folks. You could be out in Malibu relaxing. What is that makes you want to want to help them, make sure they stay clean? Why not just sentence them and be done with it?
“You can’t answer that in a generic sense. But overall, you just have to zero in and care about one person at a time, whomever you’re dealing with for those couple of moments, give them your full attention and care and that’s something they don’t have. People hate them. People hate the homeless or the drug addicted. They hate to see them walking around with nothing, and maybe its because it takes a little piece from them to see someone so downtrodden. Maybe they feel guilty. I just give the homeless or drug addict attention they don’t get elsewhere. Who else is going to give it to them? Think about that? The policeman? The shop owner? The paramedic? The prosecutors? It’s just giving each one some caring. If I can get 10 out of 100 off the street, that’s enormous. For drug court we have an 88 percent success rate, phenomenal. But it takes a year of my life to help them. It takes something out of you.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 10, 2006. Read the original PDF.