Tuesday, November 24, 1998
UCLA alumnus not allowed
to hear case vs. alma mater
LAWSUIT: School ties lead superior court to dismiss judge for
possible conflict
By Kathryn Combs
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
In a racial discrimination lawsuit against the University of
California, Alan G. Buckner, the California superior court judge
assigned to the case, was disqualified due to a potential conflict
of interest – he is an alumnus of the UCLA Law School.
David Dixon, a former medical resident at UCLA, is suing both
UCLA and the Department of Family Medicine, claiming he was
unjustly dismissed from his residency two months prior to receiving
his license to practice medicine.
While letters from the university to Dixon allege he did not
fulfill his responsibilities as a medical resident, Dixon claims he
was the victim of racial discrimination. The case is set to go to
trial Feb. 22, 1999.
Regarding the judge’s dismissal, Melanie Lomax, Dixon’s legal
counsel, said because the judge was an alumnus of the UCLA Law
School, he could not be partial when judging the practices of
UCLA.
"Very often you find judges that went to particular universities
have allegiances to those universities," Lomax said.
"What I was attempting to do was to make sure that whoever is
the judge in this case is impartial and not biased towards UCLA,"
Lomax said.
This motion would guarantee Dixon a fair hearing and trial,
Lomax said.
"In order for David Dixon to have a fair hearing, he has to have
a judge hearing the case who does not have fond memories of his
days at UCLA Law School," Lomax said.
"Having gone to UCLA and having positive feelings about UCLA – I
question whether he could be objective about UCLA and its practice
as as related to minorities," she added.
Buckner, who graduated from UCLA Law in 1966, could not be
reached for comment, as he is out of the country.
Lomax filed a motion on Oct. 30 seeking Buckner’s
disqualification. This motion was granted by the Los Angeles
Superior Court on Nov. 13.
The newly appointed judge (Ronald M. Sohigian) was announced
Monday. The case will go on as scheduled.
"Just because a judge graduated from UCLA Law School is not
cause for disqualification," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor of
law at the University of Southern California. Chemerinsky did,
however, argue that if other factors were involved, sufficient
cause may be established.
In her motion, Lomax claimed that given that Buckner was a UCLA
Law School graduate, that he did not disclose this fact and that he
had made statements in the courtroom, he was not fit to sit as
judge in Dixon’s case.
"He made certain statements about not wanting to ‘air UCLA’s
dirty laundry,’ and that’s a problem in a discrimination case where
by definition the plaintiff must discuss the historical
discriminatory patterns of UCLA," she added.
Dixon, who is African American, was released from his residency
program with the UCLA Department of Family Medicine on March 31,
1994, nearly 5 years ago.
While he filed an administrative complaint on August 31, 1995,
it was to no avail.
"(Dixon) lost confidence that he would be reinstated through the
internal appeal process so he decided to take his case to court,"
Lomax said in a previous interview.
As a result, Dixon filed suit Jan. 6, 1998 and is seeking $10
million upon resolution of this case.
When Dixon was admitted to the UCLA Department of Family
Medicine in 1993, he learned he was the only African American
resident in the department in the last 17 years.
"It is an extra racially hostile atmosphere in the department of
family medicine," Lomax said previously.
"Their admission that there has not been a female or male
African American doctor in the department is a clear indication of
institutionalized racism."
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