•JUDGE FREDERICK P.ONE OF THE 101 MOST INFlUENTIAllATINOS I

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atino Leaders Magazine has selectedOrange County Superior CourtJudge Frederick P. Aguirre as one ofthe country's lOl Most InfluentialLatinos and presented him with anaward at the Willard InterContinentalin Washington, D.C. recently, saying

that he is one of those "exemplary individu-als who represent the pinnacle of those in oursociety who have not only risen to the topof their fields, but have also dedicated theirlives to contributing to culture, education,and the success of future generations." Thehonorees included United States SupremeCourt Justice Sonia Sotomayor and U.S.Senator Marco Rubio (Florida). In addi-tion, he was recently featured in an article,"For The Record" featuringUSC alumni for highlight-ing the patriotic contribu-tions of Latinos through hisnonprofit Latino Advocatesfor Education, and wasawarded the Educators' Hallof Fame Award by Youth-on-the-Move International,Inc., Chapman University.Judge Aguirre received abachelor of arts degree fromUSC and a juris doctordegree from UCLA.

When were you appointeda judge and what is yourcurrent assignment?I was appointed on April

19, 2002, by Governor JerryBrown and was sworn in tothe Orange County SuperiorCourt bench on May 30, 2002. I currentlyserve on the Civil Law panel at the CentralJustice Center. I am on the Superior Court'sGrand Jury Recruitment Committee andam the Co-Chair with Judges Franz Millerand Douglas Hatchimonji of the Court'sLeadership Academy. In the community, I amthe Judge Advocate for the Orange CountyCouncil of the Navy League and President ofLatino Advocates for Education, Inc., a smallnonprofit group that researches and dccu-

merits the patnoDc --Latinos in the G.~.

What did you do beforeBefore and during L-=- ,,-nnnL

tender for a brick-and

Are you married:I met my wife, Linda ~k..-;-.=~_

1971, during my last year ar --of Law. She was an unde..-gI'2C"'="'majoring in English and hisschool, I was allowed ro rake one rn.-. : -,-"'ate class, so I took a u.S. hisrorher there. She completedhigh school credential in D~we were married soon rhereaf

Where do you live and what are .hobbies?We live in Villa Park with one

a Siberian Husky, and a small Maine Coes;cat. We have one other adulr sondaughter who are anending coll c»

away from home. My wife retired inafter thirty-five years of teaching in r.!~:--high schools in Orange Counry, I garplay my piano, walk our dog e\'eryand play handball. My wife and I are

•P ROOTS IN ORANGE COUNTY

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moviegoers, usually independent flicks. Also,u::: wife is writing about her pioneer family,

ich includes gold miners and Butterfield~gocoach drivers in territorial Arizona in

05.

is the difference between yourprofessicnal Iife before and after becom-

a judge?_-:.5 a solo practicing attorney, I was freecomment or advocate on any political

or controversial matter and was ableise funds for noble causes such as the

_~er's Association, KOCE TV, andJ scholarships for Latino youth, activi-

Does handling civilmatters present any specialchallenges?Handling civil matters has

not been a difficult adjust-ment. In my twenty-eightyears of practice, I devotedabout half of my time to civilcases, including being thefounding and managing part-ner of a limited partnershipthat developed a ninety-two-unit facility for the elderly,Bradford Square RetirementCommunity, in my home-town of Placentia. I securedall of the government entitle-ments and managed the two-and-a-half acre site for fifteenyears. Prior to my assignmentto the Civil Law panel inJanuary 2014, I oversaw all of

ired civil law matters in North JusticeC =-:-,.- ror three years.

do you handle discovery motions?believe that it should be completed

and without court intervention.mat in mind every time I receive.erv motion. With a caseload ofactive civil cases, I know that

-~ds of interrogatories are timely andorooriarelv answered and that hundreds

14 ORANGE COUNTY lAWYER

of depositions are set and taken without inci-dent. I also know that civil law attorneys canbe civil to each other. However, prior to filingtheir motions to compel, they just need to sitdown, perhaps over a cup of coffee, and char.I believe that attorneys billing their clientsfor a half-hour coffee klatch is much cheaperthan the bill for preparing, filing, and appear-ing at the hearing on the motion. Moreover, ifthere is not a meaningful "meet and confer"huddle, I might deny the motion and mightgrant sanctions to the other side for havingto respond and appear. I should not have tosort through one hundred requests to compelfurther responses and determine which onesshould be granted. Several times, I haveordered the attorneys to meet in my juryroom and sort it our. I find that, once thathappens, the attorneys emerge with most ofthe issues resolved. Then I will rule on theremaining issues.

What are your future goals?I am celebrating my twelfth year on the

court. My goals for the remaining yearson the Civil Law bench are to set motions(except for MSJs) within 45-60 days insteadof 90-120 days and to continue to guide andencourage the settlement of cases.

What is the most surprising part of beinga judge?

The most surprising aspect of my job ishow quickly the court has adopted electronictechnology. I remember when I was in privatepractice in the late '70s, and Judge FranciscoFirmat (Ret.) and I purchased a law build-ing and two "Selectric III" typewriters. Wewere amazed at their memory capacity andmarveled at the speed which our secretariescould produce documents. But we still main-tained a full library of the annotated codes,Rutter Guides, and the most recent appellatecourt reports. All of our files were in paperform. ow, judges review all of our files,motions, statutes, and appellate cases online.The e-filing of all civil law pleadings and,soon, of all criminal law matters is erasing theneed to archive paper files. I know that we aresaving money and can more quickly accessthe information, but I must admit that I missthe books and paper files. I like opening ahefty book, feeling the binding, and smellingthe occasional mustiness of an old publica-tion. Further, I am more comfortable withthumbing through a file to find the documentthat I am searching for.

What do you do to counter the fact thatyou do a lot of sitting?

Regarding sitting a lot, yes, as judges we

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sit a lot-on the bench listening to witnessesand attorneys and instructing jurors, and inour chambers reviewing motions, ex parterequests, and composing rulings and state-ments of decisions. I take breaks when Iam on the bench and walk down the hall toget hot water for my tea. In chambers, I getup and walk every fifteen minutes or so. Atnoon, I will walk up to the seventh floor afterlunch. Every night I walk our dog for aboutthirty minutes. Twice a week, I play indoorhandball for about two hours. Every week-end, I wash my car and my wife's car and dosome gardening.

What did you do after law school andbefore becoming a judge?During my twenty-eight years of solo

private practice, I managed my law office,litigated scores of family law matters andhundreds of civil and criminal law cases.I took to verdict over forty civil and crimi-nal jury trials. For fifteen years, I managedBradford Square Retirement Communitywith forty-plus staff and ninety-two elderlyresidents. Prior to taking the bench, I volun-teered to conduct research into the militaryservice of Latinos. I have continued thatendeavor. I have discovered, for example, that

in World War II more than 500,000 Latinosserved and fought in every major battle, that9,831 were killed in action, that 2,561 wereprisoners of war, that 12,058 were awardedthe Purple Heart for injuries sustained incombat, that one of the first casualties at PearlHarbor was Ensign Manuel Gonzales, a U.S.Navy pilot from the USS Enterprise, that theeight Nevarez brothers all served during thatwar, and that thirty-one Latino pilots scoreda total of ninety-two aerial victories. I thinkthat these facts must be shared with the publicto document the patriotism demonstrated byLatinos in defending our country in all warssince the Revolutionary War to the present.

Do you and your family have roots inOrange County?I am a true native of Orange County with

deep roots. I was born and raised in OrangeCounty; all of my family and extended familylive and work here. My family has resided inOrange County since 1918. We were a part ofthe civil rights movement to desegregate thepublic schools and gain full participation incivic affairs. I worked with my dad, a brick-and-stone mason, from sun-up to sun-downsix days a week during the summers. So Ibring those unique experiences and back-

ground to the court, which instilled in me ahard work ethic, attention to detail, organiza-tion of projects, and a desire to ensure thatthe staff and "customers and clientele" arewell served.

How do you address the stress of being ajudge?As an attorney you set the pace for your

level of stress, i.e. if you want to be a litigatorversus a transaction lawyer, or if you want[0 be in solo practice or work for a firm. Butas a judge you must accept every case thatis assigned to you and you must deal withit. Thus, judges are in a reactionary mode. Ifind rhar the solution to stress is to exercise,ear right, get plenty of sleep, and get to mychambers early every day and work hard andin an organized and focused manner. I donor ler any matters sit on my desk; I try toget my statements of decisions out within acouple of days.

Why do you believe you were selected asone of the 101most influential Latinos?I was selected for several reasons: my

community service in the Latino commu-nity, the research and documenting ofLatino military service, and the foundingand chairing of our Court's LeadershipAcademy. In 2007, I founded the OrangeCounty Superior Court LeadershipAcademy. It is a key part of our commu-nity outreach efforts to better acquaint thepublic with the role of the courts and toreceive their concerns and suggestions. Themission of the Orange County SuperiorCourt is "[tlo serve the public by adminis-tering justice and resolving disputes underthe law, thereby protecting the rights andliberties guaranteed by the Constitution ofCalifornia and of the United States." ChiefJustice Ronald M. George (Rer.) stated thatit is the court's duty "to ensure that our statejustice system treats all individuals fairlyand respectfully and that our courts areresponsive to their communities and accessi-ble in a meaningful way to all those seekingjustice." With the assistance of staff, CaroleLevitzky (Ret.) and Gwen Vieau, we inviteover two hundred community-based organi-zations to send representatives to attend ourannual six-week seminar here at the courts.We engage twelve Superior Court judgesand seven heads of court to volunteer theirtime after work hours to teach (he classes.Our community members witness a portionof a criminal trial and a collaborative courthearing. Through PowerPoint presentationsand handouts, they learn about our self-helpcenters, civil law, criminal law, family law,

16 ORANG[ COUNTY lAWYER

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traffic, probate law, and collaborative courtprocedures. In the last four years, JudgesFranz Miller and Douglas Hatchimonji havejoined me in co-chairing the LeadershipAcademy. Our graduates represent therich tapestry of our community, includ-ing, for example, the Vietnamese AmericanChamber of Commerce, Los Amigos ofOrange County, the Church of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints, the Office of AssemblyMember Donald P. Wagner, and the DelhiCenter of Santa Ana.

What inspired you to become an attorneyand then a judge?

I witnessed the detrimental effects offorcing my Dad, my Mom, and their broth-ers, sisters, and cousins into segregatedschools. I saw that there were other issuesthat still had to be addressed to ensure equalopportunities for Latinos. Thus, I elected toserve as an attorney so that I could advo-cate and assist in positive changes. For threeyears I worked as a Legal Aid attorney, thenwhile in solo practice, I represented scoresof clients on a pro bono basis and advocatedon civil rights issues.

Who has been the most influential personin your life?

The most influential person in my lifewas my father, who was forced to attendsegregated schools as a child here in OrangeCounty. Yet he patriotically served his coun-try in World War II as a combat veteran. Hereturned, formed an organization of Latinoveterans, registered folks to become voters,and lobbied the Placentia School Board untilit decided to integrate the public schools in1949. In 1958, he was elected to the PlacentiaCity Council, the second Latino elected to acity council in the history of Orange County.He later was elected to the Placentia LibraryBoard of Trustees. As a child, I would accom-pany him to meetings of the League of UnitedLatin American Citizens and would hearand see Latino attorneys discuss legal andcivic matters. He encouraged me to becomean attorney and actively set the example forpublic service.

Do you and your wife have any favoriterestaurants in Orange County?

On the culinary side of life, we loveLuigi's d'Italia in Anaheim, Ostioneria BahiaMexican & Seafood in Orange, and GoldenDragon in Costa Mesa.

What do you like best about living andworking in Orange County?

First, our children, extended family, andlife-long friends live here. Just last week: Iplayed indoor handball twice with some greatcompetitors; wearing just shorts, a tee shirt,and sandals I cruised down to the beach withmy son (in January!); I attended a lecture atChapman's Fowler School of Law and heardDean Daniel Rodriguez of Northwesternexpound on cross-curriculum law schools;I dined on spicy-tasty Mexican seafood atBahia; I spoke at UCI on the civil rightsmovement here in Orange County during the1940s; and I presided over an eight-day jurytrial with good lawyering, fine legal issues,and interesting expert witnesses. Finally,I can nostalgically still smell the alluringfragrance of our orange tree blossoms.

Paul Evan Greenwald is the managingpartner at Greenwald & Hoffman, LLP, inSanta Ana, where he practices civil litigationand business counseling, representing plaintiffiand defendants while using and advocating tocolleagues the effective use of video presenta-tions in settlement, mediation, arbitration,and trial, because you have "better resultsthrough better presentation. " Paul can bereached at pegreenwald@ghlaw.us.

www.ocbar.org MARCH 2015 17