Justice Arthur Gilbert’s Book: Poetic Justice

‘They’re the only tools judges have. You have to treat them with care and respect.’ So says Justice Arthur Gilbert, not about gavels or gowns, but about words. Dubbed the ‘Court of Appeals Poet Laureate,’ Gilbert wins praise for his clear, well-crafted opinions. ‘They should be understood by anyone,’ he says. ‘I think the craft of writing is really important. It’s a reflection of thinking.’ Gilbert’s gifted prose style shines in places other than legal documents. For 20 years, he’s written a monthly column for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The pieces entertain with musings about everyday life while illuminating little-known facets of the judicial system. Now the popular columns are compiled in one volume titled ‘Under Submission’ (The Rutter Group, $20), with all the proceeds from sales going to Legal Aid. Gilbert, the presiding Justice of Division 6 of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, is a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades. He will discuss and sign copies of the book when he appears at Village Books on Swarthmore Avenue on Friday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. Along with being a respected jurist and accomplished columnist, Gilbert is also a talented jazz pianist. His next gig at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City happens on Sunday, June 8, at 8 and 9:30 p.m. ‘Part of me wanted to be a full-time musician, but I knew it wasn’t for me,’ says Gilbert, who studied both music and literature before deciding to attend law school at UC Berkeley. ‘I don’t like to stay up late, I can’t stand cigarette smoke, and one drink is usually enough for me.’ Gilbert and his wife, Barbara, share their El Medio Bluffs home with two cats, Tatum and Powell, named after jazz greats Art and Bud. The couple, married 26 years, both share a passion for music. Barbara, a singer, often accompanies her husband on stage, and performs as a soloist at Kehillat Israel and Beth Am synagogues. ‘I started out wanting to be a jazz singer and became a classical soprano,’ says Barbara, who, like Arthur, comes from a musical family. The Gilberts also confess to being Disney Hall junkies who need regular doses of Brahms and Beethoven. ‘It’s an important part of our lives,’ says Gilbert, who is 70. ‘The music reaches me in a far different way these days. I’m truly transported.’ Always ruminating about cases, Gilbert jots down notes while at the symphony. He also listens to music while working in his office and even takes breaks at the piano. ‘One seems to feed the other,’ he says. It’s no surprise to find a grand piano at the center of Gilbert’s living room. During a recent interview at his home, a relaxed, personable Gilbert, by turns witty and serious, weighed in on a range of subjects, from Shakespeare and Robert Frost, to the landmark decision on same-sex marriage by California’s Supreme Court, to life in the Palisades. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Gilbert began his legal career as a deputy city attorney in the criminal division, where he met and became friends with the late Johnnie Cochran. Later he headed a private law practice. In 1975, Governor Jerry Brown, a classmate at Berkeley, appointed Gilbert to the Municipal Court. From there, he elevated to the L.A. Superior Court and to the Court of Appeal. Governor Gray Davis appointed him Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal (Second District, Division 6) in 1982, the position he still holds. His court hears appeals from courts in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. Gilbert’s first judicial assignment was as supervising judge of L.A.’s traffic court, the largest in the world, where he made his mark by creating traffic citations in Spanish. The innovation led to reaching a much larger number of offenders and enabling them to appear in court. Decades later, Gilbert’s former status as ‘king of traffic court’ took an ironic twist when he got speeding tickets on PCH and had to attend traffic school– twice. He transformed these episodes into humorous columns: Traffic School Part I and Traffic School Part II. In Part I, he writes: ‘I signed up for one of the many Comedy Traffic Schools. The only joke turned out to be on me. I called to make an appointment, and picked what turned out to be the nicest Saturday of the year. Over the phone I was told what they tell buyers in drug deals’bring cash and be on time. On the way there, I panicked over the thought of getting a traffic ticket. This, I later learned, was a common phenomenon.’ In his columns, Gilbert brings his judges-are-human-too theme to any number of subjects, including getting a colonoscopy and running the L.A. Marathon. Other essays focus directly on legal issues: ‘The Activism of Supreme Restraint’ and ‘Freedom to Express All Points of View.’ When teaching judicial philosophy to new superior court justices, Gilbert makes Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ required reading. ‘It’s so relevant today,’ he says. ‘The play highlights how if you’re too liberal in your interpretation of statutes, you have chaos, and if you’re too strict, too literal, you have injustice. Actually, you have injustice either way. The courts are walking a fine line. People may criticize some opinions, but there’s always a delicate balance. The play is all about the impossibility of achieving justice. We do the best we can.’ Gilbert says he’s proud of the California court’s decision ruling it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. ‘There’s an irony about this case that knocks my socks off,’ he says. ‘In many respects, it’s a conservative case, because it talks about the sanctity and social importance of the marriage institution. The dissent talks about tradition by saying ‘Marriage is always between a man and a woman. Where does the court get off changing the definition?’ The court says marriage is such an important institution that we can’t deny it to a certain class of people. So both are using tradition to support their positions. I think in 30 or 40 years, people are going to say ‘What was the big deal?” Gilbert continues to relish sitting down with colleagues and wrestling with issues, so much so that retirement seems a long way off. ‘I feel young, take care of myself and love what I’m doing,’ says the judge, who intends to once again tackle the 10K in the local Will Rogers Run on July 4. He’s fervent, too, about life in Pacific Palisades. ‘It’s like being on vacation every day. They’re going to have to carry me out of here.’ (Selected columns by Arthur Gilbert appear on his blog, Gilbert Submits, at www.gilbertsubmits.blogspot.com.)