By Scott Graham

Barton Gaut has waded deep into the family law wars. In the first year-and-a-half of his appointment, two of Gaut's nine published opinions involved intruiging family law issues.

In Reynolds v. Reynolds, 63 Cal.App.4th 1373, Gaut ruled that a spouse cannot be compelled to work beyond the typical retirement age of 65 in order to maintain the level of spousal support paid while employed. In Marriage of Biallas, 65 Cal.App.4th 755, he applied the Supreme Court's "move-away" custody ruling, one of the high court's more muddled opinions of recent years.

Gaut was a heavyweight business litigator for Riverside's biggest law firm, 100-lawyer Best, Best & Krieger, before becoming a judge in 1995.

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Gaut gave $250 to Pete Wilson's gubernatorial campaign in 1990.