Page 1
Judge Clifford L. Klein Slates Retirement
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Monday will be the last day on the bench for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Clifford J. Klein who has presided over proceedings relating to the estates of slayer Charles Manson and radio personality Casey Kasem, as well as the conservatorship of media magnate Sumner Redstone.
As a Los Angeles deputy district attorney, prior to his appointment to the bench by then-Gov. Gray Davis, Klein headed the District Attorney’s Office probe of corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division.
Klein insisted that a man who claims to be Manson’s grandson and wants the late killer’s remains and effects submit to a DNA test, an order being appealed. He denied a bid by three children of Kasem for an order that their father’s remains be returned from Norway where his widow had them shipped.
He declined in 2015 to speed up proceedings brought by the ex-girlfriend of the ailing Redstone, 92 (and now deceased). She claimed he lacked mental capacity when he ordered her out of his house.
The Court of Appeal for this district on Oct. 19, 2017 denied a petition for a writ of mandate filed by Roger and Brian Corman who contested Klein’s decision disallowing their filing a late claim against the estate of attorney Hillel Chodos. Div. One agreed with Klein that the Cormans’ filing of a cross complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court against Chodos and his son, who were suing for attorney fees, did not satisfy the claim-filing requirement.
Klein, who received his law degree from Boalt Hall in 1975, presided over the Juvenile Court in 2002.
“I still have daughters in school, so I have to be employed, he told the METNEWS, adding: “I hope to continue to work in the area of probate law. As I am a few quarters short for Social Security eligibility, I had asked my local golf club if I could work the bag room, but was rejected, so officially, I am 0/1.”
He related:
|
|
|
CLIFFORD J. KLEIN Los Angeles Superior Court Judge |
“My fondest memories are with those defendants and parents in my criminal, mental health, and guardianship (probate) assignments with whom I have worked, and watched them, through their own considerable effort, turn their lives around. One woman has established drug and alcohol centers for college students throughout the country so students can achieve the success she did.
“I tell all of these people that when they succeed, they encourage me to again take chances and give others the same opportunity to prove they can improve their lives. This has been the most rewarding part of the job.”
The judge remarked:
“Shakespeare said it best about the wonderful colleagues with whom I have worked: ‘Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius! If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; If not, why then this parting was well made.’ ”
Klein will be using up accrued vacation time and will officially retire on April 1.
Copyright 2021, Metropolitan News Company