San Diego Magazine / August 2004 / Fred Link

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Fred Link

JUDGE FRED LINK’S San Diego law career goes back to 1969, the year the Padres got their new ballpark—in Mission Valley. After a stint as a deputy district attorney, he opened his own law office. He served on the Municipal Court bench from 1981 until 1990, when he was elected Superior Court judge. He’s presided in more than 150 homicide trials. Among them: the Richard Tuite/Stephanie Crow murder case. He’s also handled scores of civil trials, including the case that cleared the last legal hurdle to the Padres’ new ballpark—in downtown San Diego.

TOM BLAIR: You’ve done some pretty good sparring with the press over the years. Yet you’ve made some close friends in the media. Overall, what kind of job do you think the local media do covering our courts?

FRED LINK: An excellent job. As long as the judge and the media work out the rules together, it usually goes smoothly. I think the media want to do a professional job. And we have to work on that from our end, because a lot of judges just won’t talk to the media. The problem comes when somebody wants something we’ve predetermined they can’t have—and then they say, “We want it.”

TB: What’s the worst thing you’ve seen a reporter do?

FL: When a TV reporter defied my direct order. I said no interviews with witnesses before or after this hearing—in or outside the courthouse. And he started right out in the hallway. I gave him hell and put him down for a contempt citation. Next day, he and his boss came in and apologized. And he was gone from the station in two weeks.

TB: In general, you’ve been receptive to TV coverage of highprofile trials. Some were surprised you let the cameras in for the highly charged Tuite trial.

FL: First of all, technology has improved so much. There was a time when you had 15 to 20 cameras in the courtroom at once. It was a circus. Now we have pooling [stations sharing video]. With NBC’s Crime & Punishment series, you didn’t even know there was a camera in the courtroom. You tuck the cameras and reporters away, and the jury doesn’t see them—you don’t have this intrusion problem.

TB: Does it matter if it’s a capital case?

FL: Yeah. But I’ve let them in on capital cases. It depends on my feelings on whether everybody’s going to get a fair trial. The majority of defense attorneys hate it. They automatically say the person isn’t getting a fair trial. But I haven’t seen [a verdict] get knocked back, reversed, in a long time because of television coverage. TB: Of course, those of us who know you best know you’re a bit of a ham, too.

FL: Now, now, I’m not a ham. The fact is, a lot of people are afraid of how they’re gonna sound and look. I’m not. But when I first looked at coverage of one of my trials, I do recall my wife saying, “Would you get your hands away from your nose?”

TB: How did Tuite’s brief escape affect his trial? Were you shocked he was able to just walk away from the Hall of Justice?

FL: Well, absolutely. Any time somebody walks away, with or without force, it bothers me. I can’t comment on how it might have affected the trial.

TB: Anything been changed so that doesn’t happen again?

FL: I don’t think the system was flawed; it was the human factor. And personnel have changed. It’s like anything else—if nothing happens for a long period of time, people get set in their ways. And then something like this does happen. You’ve got to be vigilant all the time. Because when you’re dealing with people looking at 15 or 20 years, or a life sentence, these are just desperate people.

TB: You’ve presided in 150 murder trials, six potential deathpenalty cases. How difficult is it to be ruling on evidence and procedure when you know the outcome could mean somebody’s put to death?

FL: You certainly put a lot of thought into it. But I don’t rule based on the fact it’s a death-penalty case. Each decision has to be based on law. And you have to remember, even though a jury may come back with a death penalty, the judge can set it aside.

TB: Did you ever have a case where the convicted was put to death? FL: I had the only local one that’s gone to death. I did the death warrant on Robert Alton Harris [convicted of murdering two 16- year-old Mira Mesa boys]. I have the death certificate that says, “Cause of death: judicial order by Judge Frederic Link.”

TB: You favor the death penalty?

FL: Well, “favor” is not a good choice of words. I believe there are people—because of their backgrounds or the crimes they commit —who are so horrible that society can decide that this person should give up their life. If I didn’t, I couldn’t in good conscience handle them. But am I for it? No.

TB: Do you think it’s getting harder these days to get a fair trial —to get jurors who haven’t already made up their minds—especially in high-profile or celebrity cases?

FL: You know, I hate to say this, Tom, but there are a lot of people who don’t pay attention to the media. I’ve interviewed thousands and thousands of jurors, and you would be shocked at the ones who say, “I don’t know, I’ve never heard of this case.” And even the ones who know about the case, they’re able to put that aside.

TB: Okay, a family matter: Your son is a deputy district attorney— that’s where you started 35 years ago. He’s just like the old man. FL:Well, not really. He’s taller; athletic; much better looking.