By Greg Mitchell

For anyone who's concerned that the courts are too politicized, Tim Reardon ought to be a breath of fresh air. Reardon seems utterly without ideology, as might befit a Democrat appointed three times by former Gov. George Deukmejian. Reardon particularly demonstrated his independence with California Court Reporters Association Inc. v. Judicial Council of California, 55 Cal.App.4th 47, in which he shot down a Judicial Council plan to continue electronic court reporting without legislative authorization. (The Judicial Council, led by California's chief justice, is the policymaking arm of the state's courts.)

Reardon's opinions are seldom flashy or intellectual; they just state the facts and the law and reach a conclusion. One of the more personally popular members of the First District, he heads up the court's "collegiality commitee."

Division Four was the fastest on the court in fiscal year 1996-97, with a median of 119 days from briefing to decision on civil appeals, and only 66 days for criminal appeals.