INTERVIEW- "SENTENCING SOMEONE IS THE HARDEST PART OF MY JOB" RICHARD WHITNEY, JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
Richard Whitney is an unassuming person, or at least, that is what a person can appreciate when you have the chance to talk to him in his office. He is surrounded by pictures of his children and he has not hesitate to talk about them: “one of them would like to be a cop next year".There are some diplomas on his wall: one of them is his certificate of election and his oath in the County of San Diego
Pablo Ortega and students from SDSU- Why did you choose being a judge?
Richard Whitney- I studied Law because when I was younger I was interested in Politics. Because of that, I started studying Law in San Diego State College. I spent seven years learning in order to be a judge. Now, it is necessary to take a ten-year academic training to become a judge. For my training, I worked as a volunteer in Orange County Courthouse.
SDSU- What is the hardest part of your job?
R.W.- Sentencing someone. Sometimes, I ask myself if the sentence is appropriate for the person. But I do not feel guilt when I sentence a person.
SDSU- What are the most common cases you work with?
R.W.- We have many cases of domestic violence where women are the victims. The thing is that they always come back home because of their children, economic reasons or because they do not want to be single. They show that they suffer from low self-esteem. At the same time, Internet is increasing the criminal cases. The main problem is the misrepresentation. We have many cases where people rent houses and whose so-called owner gets a deposit in advance for many months. Then, the tenants realize neither the house exists nor the owner.
SDSU- What are the most difficult cases?
R.W.- There are different levels of difficulty. For example, criminal cases are very complex because you have to research and to look carefully all the files in order to avoid mistakes. We have to observe and research how the problem with the Corporation began and how it developed. Another level of difficulty is concerned to cases in which parents fight for the custody of their children.
SDSU- Have you ever been under threat for your role in the proceedings?
R.W.- Yes, via telephone. But I feel safe because we have special protection with us and we have some security in our neighborhood as well.
SDSU- Thanks very much for your help and all the information provided.
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