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Retired LASC Judge Thomas F. Nuss, 92, Dies
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A celebration of the life of retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas Francis Nuss, who died Jan. 14 at the age of 92, is scheduled for March 2.
It will be held at the Meeting House at Hillcrest, 2705 Mountain View Dr., in La Verne, starting at 3 p.m.
Nuss was appointed to the Pomona Municipal Court by Gov. Ronald Reagan on Nov. 20, 1974, and took office on Jan. 2, 1975 after wrapping up his law practice. He had been a trial attorney for more than 15 years.
Gov. George Deukmejian elevated Nuss to the Superior Court on Feb. 1, 1984, and he took the oath of office the same day. Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Dukes, a former presiding judge of that court, on Monday hailed Nuss as “one of the giants of our court.”
Dukes, who served with Nuss on the Pomona Municipal Court and in the East District of the Superior Court, recalled that Nuss had been supervising judge of the district. Along with Judge Peter S. Smith (now deceased), he made strides in the late 1980s and early 1990s in streamlining court operations, the retired judge said.
“Through their delay reduction efforts, they were instrumental in cutting criminal and civil caseloads in the East District by almost 60% through judicially controlled calendar techniques,” Dukes recounted. “After initial resistance by the bar and other judges, Nuss eventually won over the leadership of the court and the organized bar to encourage judges around the county to stop needless continuances and bring out of control calendars to workable levels.”
Statewide Task Forces
He noted that Nuss “spent most of his judicial career in the East District, but served on statewide task forces,” placed on them by then-Chief Justice Ronald M. George. The two had met, Dukes advised, when George was a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, assigned to the East District.
Just before Nuss’s retirement from the bench in 1995, the court was looking for someone to serve as executive officer. Dukes related:
“Nuss had knowledge of an outstanding administrative officer of Essex County, New Jersey, Superior Court named Jack Clarke. He tracked him down while he was on vacation in Florida and talked him into applying for the position on our court.
“He thought very highly of him and his support of judicial independence and the use of creative calendar management by judges. After much vetting, the court elected Jack Clarke as its executive officer, a position Clarke held for 18 years.”
Promoted Collegiality
Dukes continued:
“Nuss believed the judges of the court should be friends as well as colleagues and implemented the East District Retreats so all could get to know each other and their families. He felt that friends didn’t mind helping each other and this created an environment where judges stopped thinking about finishing only their own calendar and ignoring the needs of the court and other judges.
“Over a weekend every year the judges would gather with their families, attend self taught seminars, and engage in social events, all paid out of their own pockets. He was also well known for his “Friday Afternoon Popcorn Time” held weekly after court hours in his courtroom where judicial officers, DDAs, PDs, local attorneys in the courthouse at the time, would gather and socialize.
“He believed the proper practice of law showed that advocates could still be friends.”
After leaving the court, Nuss became a mediator with major providers of alternative dispute resolution services.
Church Abuse Cases
“But he still assisted the court and was the agreed discovery referee in the Catholic Church criminal abuse cases, appointed by then-supervising judge of Criminal, Dan Oki [now retired],” Dukes said. “Even with his Catholic background, all sides were comfortable agreeing to him because of his sterling reputation for fairness.”
IVAMS, with which Nuss was affiliated, notes on its website that Nuss, as special master, “ordered the Los Angeles Archdiocese to disclose certain confidential materials pursuant to a District Attorney subpoena, a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court,” adding:
“His efforts as a mediator contributed to the settlement of the Orange County Diocese Abuse cases for {$100 million.”
Nuss’s law degree was conferred in 1960 by Fordham University.
He served as a member of the San Dimas City Council from 1968-70 and as mayor of that San Gabriel Valley city from 1970-73.
He leaves behind his wife of 30 years, Susan Nuss, seven children and two stepchildren, 19 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, and two sisters.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the Pomona Valley Community Hospital Medical Center or the Hillcrest Benevolent Funds.
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