Anyone who has practiced political law for any length of time is familiar with the Hon. James T. Ford. Although Judge Ford presided over a broad spectrum of cases before his retirement this year after 20 years on the bench, his courtroom was a very familiar place to the small group of lawyers who have traditionally handled most of the "election writ" cases.

Election writs can include a wide range of election-related contests, but they most commonly involve challenges to an initiative's title and summary, to the ballot arguments in support or opposition, or to a candidate's ballot designation. Since many of these cases must be brought in Sacramento by statutory requirement and others are brought here by tradition or for reasons of convenience, the local Superior Court gets a disproportionate share of election-related cases. Within that court, there are a small number of judges who handle writs. Until 1999, Judge Ford heard virtually all of the election writs.

According to attorneys who have appeared before him over the years, one of Judge Ford's qualities that made him particularly well suited to hearing these writs was his ability to understand the issues and make a decision quickly. Election writs are often filed, served and argued within a matter of days. "He's a quick study and never afraid to make tough decisions," commented Lance Olson, an attorney who represents the California Democratic Party and has appeared frequently on the Democratic side.

Judge Ford passes the compliments back to the attorneys who have appeared before him, calling their role in the process "vital" and pointing out that he has always relied on the lawyers' ability to fully and accurately present the issues to him. He noted that the political writs were somewhat distinctive in that there was a relatively small group of attorneys who not only knew the substantive area very well, but also were familiar with the extraordinary time constraints and well versed in the writ procedures. He also singled out Oliver Cox, who recently retired as counsel to the Secretary of State's Election Division, as a source of great help over the years.

Attorneys commend Judge Ford for his sense of humor, his gracious treatment of attorneys and his willingness to give them every opportunity to present their case. Most agreed with Ford's own observation that the more an attorney was talking in his court, the more likely he or she was to lose the case. Ford acknowledged that when his review of the pleadings and his own analysis led him to a tentative conclusion in favor of one party, he would focus most of his questions on the other side to give them a chance to lead him to a different conclusion. As Chuck Bell (who has frequently appeared on the Republican side) said, "Judge Ford was always interested in exploring the fine points of the law with attorneys and win or lose, we always thought we got a fair hearing."

Virtually everyone who has been in Judge Ford's courtroom has come away with the impression that he genuinely seemed to enjoy his work. The judge himself calls it "the greatest job imaginable." He adds that he always felt a great deal of "responsibility," knowing that each case was important in its own way, particularly to the parties, and that many cases involved larger principles which were important to society as well. Although the political writs brought him more publicity, the majority of Ford's time on the bench was spent on the day-to-day work of domestic relations, civil work and criminal cases. Unlike many, Ford praises the jury system for giving "everyday citizens" a voice in the justice system, and states that after presiding over almost 300 jury trials he found himself "generally in agreement" with the conclusions of the juries in those cases.

As someone who has had his share of high profile cases, Ford says that the possibility of negative publicity or adverse public reaction to his decisions has never been a factor for him. "It's a great job, but it's not worth looking over your shoulder all the time." In his view, the courts are really doing the "public's business" and the media provides access to the court system.

Because of his experience with election issues, some people have urged the judge to write a book about the initiative process. Perhaps surprisingly, he says he just doesn't feel "passionately" enough about the need for changes to the system. While he acknowledged that some reforms might be appropriate, he does not advocate a lot of new restrictions on the initiative process. He takes a somewhat philosophical view of that process, saying that the best check on abuse is the political process itself.

Now that he's retired, Ford is enjoying a new sense of "freedom." As someone who had not had three consecutive weeks off since 1964, he is now traveling extensively with his wife. Trips have included the Virgin Islands, Oaxaca, Mexico, New York and a Hong Kong to Athens trip. He is planning to sit by assignment about 30 days this year and he is using his experienced perspective to his role as a mediator. Everyone agrees that Judge Ford will be sorely missed during the next election cycle. Reflecting upon Ford's new endeavors, Chuck Bell commented, "If we ever have an election case that might be mediated, I'd love to take it to him."