Monday, March 6, 2006
Page 3
Services Set for Superior Court Judge Robert Sandoval
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Memorial observances will be held tomorrow and Wednesday for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Sandoval, who died Tuesday after suffering a massive heart attack.
A vigil will be held tomorrow, beginning at 7 p.m., with the funeral service Wednesday beginning at 11:30 a.m., both at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn-Glendale. The address is 1712 S. Glendale Avenue.
Tributes to the judge, who celebrated his 56th birthday five days before he passed away, continued to pour in as word of his death spread among his colleagues.
Judge Diana Wheatley, who served alongside Sandoval as both a commissioner and a judge, called him “a dedicated judge, a caring friend, and a devoted family man.”
Judge Anne Egerton, who worked with Sandoval at the Metropolitan Courthouse, where he held that last of many assignments, said she would “miss Rob’s smile and his cheerful and always upbeat approach to life and to the work of our court.”
Judge David L. Minning described Sandoval as “bright, sensitive, and caring,” Judge Lloyd Nash as “one of the kindest, most caring, warm individuals” he knew, and Judge William Stewart as “entirely dedicated to justice and to his family,” while Judge Stephen Marcus recalled his “gentle spirit.”
Sandoval and his partner of 23 years, Bill Martin, adopted their son, Harrison Martin-Sandoval, in 1993. Judge John P. Doyle, whose son is also named Harrison and is about the same age, noted that he and Sandoval often spoke of their children’s “antics” when they were young, and said he would miss his colleague’s “infectious laugh.”
His supervising judge at the Hollywood Courthouse in the early 1990s, Andrew Kauffman, praised the “dignity...understanding...and common sense” that Sandoval brought to his work. Judge Mel Red Recana, the Los Angeles Municipal Court’s presiding judge for part of the time that Sandoval served as a commissioner there, said he “ could always count on Rob to take any assignment” and noted that “the lawyers would always stipulate for him...to do their criminal jury trials.”
Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis recalled the day she swore Sandoval in as a judge following his appointment by then-Gov. Gray Davis in 2000 while his partner “and all his family and friends beamed ear to ear” with “little Harrison running around happily.”
Duffy-Lewis said “the legal community has lost a wonderful person and the judges a valued colleague,” but added that Sandoval “left a loving and proud family and a legacy in Harrison.”
Copyright 2006, Metropolitan News Company