Gay marriage judge a quiet maverick

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 18, 2004 | by Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

James L. Warren runs his San Francisco court with studiousness and formality.

He's a legal scholar, say lawyers who practice before him, a judge of unusual evenhandedness and courtesy to criminals -- a "consummate gentleman."

The judge rarely talks of his grandfather, Earl Warren, who rose from Alameda County deputy district attorney to governor to architect of the U.S. Supreme Court's broadest civil-rights rulings.

"He comes from legal aristocracy, but you would never know it," said Nanci Clarence, a criminal defense attorney.

Yet faced by the most pressing civil-rights issue of the day -- whether the law allows same-sex marriages -- Superior Court Judge Jim Warren debated the finer points of conjunctions and put off a binding ruling for more than a month.

Warren ordered San Francisco city attorneys return to his court March 29 to lay out their reasoning for continuing to marry same-sex couples.

It's an unusually understated move for a judge who has defined himself in part as a quiet maverick.

"I think if you ask him what he likes about himself, it would be his independence," said San Francisco assistant district attorney Jim Hammer.

Warren, who turns 60 next month, ordinarily doesn't shy from politically incorrect rulings. He shot down a lawsuit against gun manufacturers arising from the 101 California case in which a deranged man killed eight and wounded six.

"He calls them the way he sees them," says Ernie Getto, a civil defense attorney who lost early rulings in the gun liability case.

"It's my view he's a courageous judge. He's not afraid to make a decision that might be viewed as controversial or unpopular," Getto said.

In San Francisco's infamous dog-mauling case, Warren publicly denounced Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller as "the most despised couple in this city."

But he shocked the courtroom by tossing out a jury verdict finding Knoller guilty of second-degree murder. The move enraged the gay and lesbian community, which had lined up lockstep behind relatives of the victim, Dianne Whipple, and her domestic partner, Sharon Smith.

To many in that community, the ruling was especially galling after Warren was outed by San Francisco Magazine in its June 2002 edition.

But lawyers who know Warren dismissed any notion that his sexual preference plays much of a role in his judicial analyses.

"This is not an uncomplicated decision. And either way Warren's going to take heat," said Dylan Schaffer, Knoller's appellate attorney. "Given his conduct in the dog mauling case, I don't think Warren's going to be swayed by public opinion."

Smith sobbed as Warren threw out the verdict. She later said, "Justice was done, and now I feel that justice has been undone."

On Thursday, Smith and her new partner, Michelle Enlow, were wed at San Francisco City Hall, as conservative groups filed legal challenges to same-sex marriage. They asked Warren to void all of the marriages performed to date.

Clarence said she expects Warren takes the case "very, very seriously."

"I don't think this will be the first time that he, as all judges must, has to sort through what his personal feelings are to come to a ruling," she said.

Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.com