The Orange County Vote : Voters Give Judge Benefit of the Doubt : Courts: Whitney easily wins reelection despite misconduct charges. Dutcher faces runoff with Lee.

SANTA ANA —  A Municipal Court judge facing misconduct charges easily won reelection Tuesday, while another incumbent judge will face a county prosecutor in a runoff in November.

Municipal Judge Claude E. Whitney in Santa Ana still faces charges, filed by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, that he barred defendants from seeking out defense counsel and violated other constitutional rights. But Whitney said Wednesday that the results of Tuesday’s election show the public believes--as he does--that he did nothing wrong.

“I think the people realize that I have a job to do and I take it very seriously,” said Whitney, who received 55.3% of the vote, according to semi-official results. “I am a fair judge, I enjoy my work and I feel very privileged to have an opportunity to serve the people.”

Whitney’s opponent, defense attorney Dennis Patrick O’Connell, centered his campaign on the controversy and asked voters to elect a judge who would follow the law. O’Connell received 44% of the vote.

“I think there was a lot of information lacking out there,” said O’Connell, who said he also blamed his loss on voter apathy. “But I don’t think this is an endorsement of Whitney’s conduct.”

In the county’s most heated judicial election, in the Westminster court office, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Caryl Lee received 38.1% of the vote to incumbent Municipal Judge Dan C. Dutcher’s 38%. A third candidate, attorney Barry S. Brown, got 23.3%. Lee and Dutcher will face each other in a runoff on Nov. 8.

“The way I look at it, 63% of the voters cast their ballot against Dutcher,” said attorney Bruce Bridgman, who is running Lee’s campaign. He has criticized Dutcher as being too lenient at sentencing and complained that Dutcher’s campaign literature has been misleading.

“Caryl got the most votes, she has the support of law enforcement and we will continue to campaign hard until she wins the election,” Bridgman said.

But Dutcher’s treasurer, attorney Jennifer Keller, said the opposition has been running a smear campaign and is taking advantage of a sitting judge who is barred by judicial ethics from responding to the allegations.

“It has been a sleazy campaign from beginning to end,” said Keller, who added that Dutcher’s 12 years on the bench make him the more experienced candidate.

In other judicial races, Municipal Judge Pamela L. Iles in Laguna Niguel easily defeated Mission Viejo attorney John C. Connolly, collecting 64.4% of the vote to his 35.1%. Connolly’s campaign centered on the theme that a “change” was needed, while Iles focused on her experience on the bench.

“I am very grateful to the voters of South Orange County for overlooking the campaign rhetoric and basing their decision on my record,” Iles said. “I plan to serve them as vigorously as in the past.”

In the only race for an open seat on the Orange County Superior Court, Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan in Santa Ana defeated fellow Municipal Judge B. Tam Nomoto, with 60.3% of the vote to her 39.1%.