Honorees

Hon. William Mudd

1944-2009

Bill Mudd was born in Baltimore, Maryland.  His father was an FBI agent and his mother was a homemaker.  He graduated from Cal Western College and then from Hastings Law School in 1969.  He then joined the Army Reserve.  While serving at Fort Ord, he was injured in an accident and spent weeks recovering in the hospital.  Thereafter, he was transferred to a Judge Advocate General (JAG) unit.  From these experiences in the service, Judge Mudd would later devote a great deal of time assisting disabled veterans.

He was admitted to the California Bar in 1970.  After one year in the Office of the City Attorney, he practiced as a criminal defense lawyer in San Diego for about 12 years, and  then was appointed to the judicial office of Commissioner.  He then became a Municipal Court judge, and was elevated to the Superior Court in 1988.

Judge Mudd was one of the hardest working judges on the bench.  By the time he retired from the Superior Court, Judge Mudd had presided over 600 to 700 jury trials, including many serious felony cases.  In one year alone, he presided over 14 murder trials.  He handled thousands of felony cases in the high volume felony departments of the Superior Court.  In 2002, he presided over the lengthy and complex  trial of David Westerfield, who was accused and convicted of the kidnap and capital murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.  He allowed full media coverage of this emotional, widely followed trial.

One of his greatest contributions to criminal justice was the case of People v. Romero, a case that would make a monumental change in California law.  A small time thief and drug addict, Jesus Romero, pled guilty to possession of .13 grams of cocaine base.  Romero’s prior convictions did not involve violence, but did include a residential burglary and an attempted residential burglary, both of which qualified as strike priors under the three strike law which had been recently enacted by legislation and by initiative.  The minimum sentence for a defendant with two strike priors was a mandatory 25 years-to-life.  Over the objection of the District Attorney, Judge Mudd struck the two strike priors in the interest of justice and sentenced Romero to six years in state prison.  The DA appealed.  In People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497, a unanimous California Supreme Court affirmed Judge Mudd’s decision, ruling that the trial court has the authority to dismiss strike priors in the interest of justice, subject to appellate review for abuse of discretion.

When he struck Romero’s strike priors, Judge Mudd was sailing in uncharted waters and risked criticism that he was not being tough on crime.  His courageous decision in the Romero case was vindicated both by the decision of the California Supreme Court, as well as by history.  The power of the trial court to dismiss strike priors (as well as other charges and allegations), has assisted judges in imposing fair sentences based on a careful consideration of all factors in a case.

Judge Mudd handled thousands of criminal cases in his career on the bench. He approached every case the same way he handled Romero.  His goal was to do the right thing based on all of the facts and to judge each defendant as an individual.  He had a great legal mind, a good human touch, and great instincts.

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