More on Justice Puglia

JUDGES AND JUDICIARY • Mar. 15, 2005

ROBERT K. PUGLIA, 1929-2005

Justice Was Mentor to Many, Known for Strong Personality

By Linda Rapattoni
Daily Journal Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO - State appellate judges, federal judges and lawyers fondly recalled Monday the times they shared with the late 3rd District Court of Appeal Justice Robert K. Puglia.

They described the retired justice as a keen intellectual, an athlete, a strong personality, a Civil War buff, a baseball fanatic, an Ohio State University football loyalist and a mentor.

Puglia died Thursday of complications related to cancer. He was 75.

The former justice wrote more than 4,000 opinions, 436 of them published between 1974 and 1998 when he was on the appellate bench.

Puglia was a strict constructionist and conservative in his views, according to Richard Osen, president of McDonough, Holland and Allen, in Sacramento, and several others.

"Bob was a very strong personality, but he didn't lead by fiat," said Associate Justice Fred Morrison. "He led by consensus. He was a guy who was very confident of who he was so, in debate, he spoke forcefully - he was not politically correct - and he would carry the day by its power and logic."

A few weeks before he died, friends and colleagues came up with a way to honor Puglia because he could not meet with everyone who wanted to wish him well, Osen said. The group also wanted to leave his family with a heartfelt memento, so they enlisted Justice George Nicholson to put together a radio tribute featuring big band music.

Radio station KCTC-AM agreed to the broadcast and Puglia selected 13 of his favorite big band songs, each of which were introduced by a variety of friends and colleagues including Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

The tribute was broadcast Feb. 27, and recordings were distributed to family members and friends.

Puglia had a photographic memory, Osen said, and could sing the songs word for word. His recall also came in handy in bench conferences.

"He was just a font of knowledge on the court about the law in California," Morrison said. "You'd be having discussion in our conferences and he would say I think that's covered in (i.e.) People v. Smith and he would cite it to the page. No one else could do that. He was amazing."

Osen said Puglia was precise on the bench and let lawyers try their cases. Puglia was also a mentor to many. Several interviewed said he helped them get jobs with law firms or put in a good word when they sought a position on the bench.

"He was a person who loved all people," Nicholson said. "He loved to talk to people anywhere and everywhere around the world. Regardless of your age, Bob was a mentor, regardless of whether someone was a Democrat or Republican, male or female. He helped every person who ever came in contact with him."

Puglia was a Democrat until 1980, when he registered as a Republican.

Born and raised in Ohio, Puglia and a friend traveled to California to attend UC Berkeley, and he worked in construction jobs in Amador County to try to pay for the out-of-state tuition. However, Puglia found it too costly and returned to Ohio, where he attended Ohio State University, getting a bachelor's degree.

Puglia said in a Daily Journal interview in 1991 that he had decided on a career in law when he was 12 years old.

After his graduation from Ohio State, Puglia enlisted in the Army and served as an infantryman in the Korean War.

Years later, he returned to Korea on a trip with Morrison.

"We got to go to the demilitarized zone where he had fought," Morrison said. "We made arrangements to see the Korean sector where Bob had been a private facing the Chinese army. We met several Korean colonels, and Bob briefed all of them on what had happened there in 1953. He pointed out where his division was where the Koreans and Chinese were positioned. They were enthralled."

After the war, he was admitted to the UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. After he earned his law degree he moved to Sacramento in 1958 and worked briefly in the state attorney general's office. A year later he went to work as a deputy district attorney in Sacramento.

Within four years, he was appointed chief deputy district attorney.

"He was gifted with an intelligence and eloquence seldom seen," said U.S. District Judge Edward Garcia, who said he joined the district attorney's office at the same time.

Puglia discussed his aspirations to become a judge with Garcia, but he said he needed some civil law experience, so he resigned from the prosecutor's office in 1969 and joined McDonough, Holland and Allen, Garcia said.

He was there for only a short while when Gov. Ronald Reagan appointed him to the Sacramento County Superior Court in 1971. He was elevated to the appellate court three years later and within six months was named presiding judge.

"He quickly rose to the top no matter what endeavor in law he took," Garcia said.

Puglia retired from the bench in 1998 and rejoined McDonough, Holland and Allen as a mediator.

Puglia is survived by his wife of 46 years, Ingrid; three sons, David, Peter and Thomas; a daughter, Susan; and three grandchildren.

A public memorial service is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 21, at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento.