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Denver Post
New Bryant judge keeps a tight rein
Friday, October 24, 2003 - Tough and imperious, thorough and demanding.
Those are the words used to describe District Judge Terry Ruckriegle, who appointed himself to the the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case on Thursday. Those who know him say there's no question about it: He will keep a lid on things during a trial. "He's very much in control of his courtroom and the proceedings in the courtroom," said Pete Michaelson, a former Eagle County district attorney now serving as a part-time judge in Custer County. "He's a tough judge, but he's very fair." Ruckriegle, the state court administrator announced Thursday, will be on the bench for Bryant's first appearance in district court Nov. 10, when the basketball star will be advised of the single felony charge against him and possibly will enter a plea. He takes over for Frederick Gannett, the Eagle County judge who presided over the case from its filing through the preliminary hearing. Gannett ordered Bryant to stand trial in district court. Despite his wire-rim glasses and soft-spoken, deliberate manner, Ruckriegle - the chief judge in the 5th Judicial District - rules from the bench with an iron fist, never hesitating to scold wayward attorneys or cut to the chase. "He's got a sharp side to him, and there are times that he can be a little bit harsh," Michaelson said. "I had times when I wondered if there wasn't something personal between us, and it really wasn't. ... He just has high expectations, and he's not going to let anyone disregard the authority of his court." Although the Bryant case originally was to have gone to second- year Judge Tom Moorhead based on the district's normal assignment system, Ruckriegle took the case "based upon the extraordinary impact the case of People v. Bryant has placed upon the system as well as considerations of case flow and case management for all cases pending in the 5th Judicial District," according to a court announcement. "It's in his discretion to say, 'I want this case,"' Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's office, said before the announcement. "But if ... Ruckriegle is taking the case, that would be very unusual. As far as we know, a case hasn't been taken from a judge unless there's an order like a recusal." Ruckriegle seems to relish difficult assignments. He has presided over numerous high-profile cases in recent years. Those include the murder trials of juvenile cop-killers T.J. White and Marcus Fernandez during 1993's "summer of violence" and of Chuck Garrison, who buried his wife in the front yard of their Breckenridge home after a domestic rage. Bryant, 25, a five-time all-star basketball guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, is accused of sexual assault stemming from a June 30 incident at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards. He has admitted to having sex with his 19-year-old accuser but said the liaison was consensual. "I am confident, given my experience of trying many cases in front of (Ruckriegle) that he would not allow a circuslike atmosphere to invade the integrity of the court," said Mike Goodbee, another former Eagle County district attorney. "He is very reflective and measured about his rulings, careful and cautious about the language he uses to put on the record, and not one to shy away from asking the tough questions of both sides." Ruckriegle, 56, can be a strict taskmaster: In a current Summit County murder case, he rejected a plea agreement between prosecutors and a defendant because it included a condition of no prison sentence, a decision that Ruckriegle refuses to relinquish to the attorneys. Ruckriegle, who became a judge in 1984 and has been the chief judge in the four-county district since 1994, received high marks for his legal knowledge and control of the courtroom in the judicial- performance commission review of 1998. But lawyers were less complimentary about the way he treats them. "Judge Ruckriegle believes this is at least partly due to his effort to keep matters moving along in court. He is making a strong effort to reach a more comfortable balance in this area," wrote the commission, which overwhelmingly endorsed him for retention. Since 1984, 64 of Ruckriegle's cases have been appealed, and 19 were reversed, remanded, overturned or dismissed in whole or in part - a moderately high number that legal analysts say is indicative of his willingness to listen to novel arguments. A 1973 graduate of the Indiana University law school, Ruckriegle served nine years as a prosecutor based in Georgetown and a couple of years in private practice before becoming a judge. He was a finalist for an open position on the Colorado Supreme Court in 2000. He is active in the Colorado Bar Association, serving on numerous committees over the years. As strict and stern as he is on the bench, however, Ruckriegle is warm and friendly off of it. He and his wife, Deb, a schoolteacher, dote on their two daughters and are frequent participants in community activities around their home in Summit County. Although he takes the job extremely seriously - so much so that Michaelson says he recalls reports of Ruckriegle getting sick from self-imposed stress - the judge is far from dour personally. In recent years, he has loosened his collar and even officiated at the mass wedding ceremony at Loveland ski area on Valentine's Day. "He's got a fine sense of humor," Michaelson said. "He's a pretty smart judge. What he doesn't know, he'll study and be ready for. Not being prepared was never an option." |