lameda County Superior Court Judge Joseph Carson is renowned for his success in settling cases -- even if it means lugging a mountain of work home with him.
Since he was appointed to the municipal court bench by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972, Carson has hauled hundreds of cases home, all in the same faded leather bag with a broken lock.
"I spend a lot of time doing research -- and have gone through quite a few pairs of glasses doing it," quips Carson, who was elevated to superior court by Gov. George Deukmejian in April 1984.
The veteran judge's judicial assignments have run the gamut from small claims cases to death penalty trials. Attorneys say he maintains an approachable demeanor. But they have one piece of advice for lawyers who appear before him: Be prepared.
"I try to treat everyone with dignity and respect, but I expect them to come to court prepared," Carson says.
Preparation is one of the keys to Carson's track record in settling cases. His settlement skills are such that, in last-ditch efforts to settle the most stubborn cases on the verge of trial, his colleagues have asked the 27-year veteran of the bench to step in.
"He will go to great lengths to settle a civil case," says Marc Bouret, of counsel with Oakland's Haims, Johnson, MacGowan & McInerney and past president of the Alameda County Bar Association. "It's hard to find a judge who has not only the know-how but also the willingness to spend so much of his own time on a case."
Carson's dedication has earned him a number of honors over the years, including Judge of the Year three times and the Above and Beyond Award in 1993 from the Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association. Carson, a Republican, was also a member of Gov. Pete Wilson's "secret committee" on judicial appointments.
Despite Carson's political pull, attorneys say he hasn't lost his down-to-earth style. He likes to fish and garden; for lunch he usually munches on something he caught or grew himself.
And if Carson is famed for his settlement techniques, another skill may make him a judicial legend: his coffee.
According to one attorney who appears regularly in Carson's courtroom, one of the greatest perks of Department 21 is the judge's java brew. Carson picks up beans from Peerless Coffee and grinds them fresh every day.
"I make it every morning," Carson says. "I'm a farmer from Hayward after all."
Carson grew up in San Leandro and worked as a janitor from high school through law school. When he was hired by the Alameda County district attorney's office in 1966, Carson said he appeared "in the same court I had swept as a janitor -- with a cut in pay."
Carson still acts like something of a judicial janitor, dedicated to cleaning up his calendar as efficiently as possible. He holds hearings to collect court papers, which he then takes home to peruse. He sticks to a schedule of regular conference calls after a preliminary hearing to keep communication channels wide open.
"He's got a lot of tenure there. A lot of people let that get in the way, but he's a real humble and quiet guy. And very sharp," Bouret says. "And people tend to like him for that."
