‘Time to make a change,’ says Justice David Thompson

Justice David A. Thompson of the 4th District Court of Appeal will leave the bench Oct. 15 after 24 years as an appellate and superior court judge.

"It's time to make a change," he said in an interview Wednesday, explaining he will return to practicing in the private sector.

4th District justices Raymond J. Ikola and Patricia D. Benke retired in July.

Named to the Court of Appeal in 2012, Thompson wrote more than 700 opinions. He previously served 15 years as a judge of the Orange County Superior Court.

"The best part of being an appellate judge is having the luxury of time to really sit and think and research," Thompson said.

In a case about land use and coastal access, Thompson ruled San Diego could bar people from using a popular beach in order to protect seals that breed there. The order reversed a trial court ruling that blocked a city ordinance banning people from a La Jolla beach during the seals' six-month breeding season.

Thompson, who wrote the unanimous opinion, concluded there's substantial evidence to support the city ordinance, emphasizing that the prohibition was only implemented after other policies failed to protect the seals. He wrote, "The city is to be commended for its measured response to the problems at Children's Pool Beach."

The justice held that nothing in the Marine Mammal Protection Act "manifests an express congressional intent to preempt the state's ability to exercise its police powers to regulate access to its own property." The federal law, he concluded, does not "usurp the state's traditional power to regulate land use." Friends of Children's Pool v. City of San Diego et al., G053709 (Cal., App. 4th Dist., June 7, 2018).

"That was an interesting case and involved some novel issues," he said. "I'm proud of that decision."

Todd Lundell, an appellate specialist at Sheppard Mullin, said in a statement that Thompson has "a unique ability to cut to the heart of any appeal and to recognize the implications of the court's decision on the parties, the larger community, and the development of the law."

In another case concerning the possible release of sex offenders, Thompson proved he was unafraid to dissent from his colleagues and admit that he may have been wrong after rehearing arguments. He flipped from his original position with the majority that there's no rational basis to deny people convicted of lewd acts with a child from seeking a certificate of rehabilitation when people convicted of more egregious offenses have that opportunity.

He wrote in a dissenting opinion that the majority's decision creates "absurd results" and constitutes "a major retreat" from stringent laws governing sex offenders. People v. Tirey, DJDAR 5251.

"Justice Thompson has a rare combination of a hard headed, straight ahead approach to the law and a big heart that never lets him lose sight of the impact his decisions have on real people," Justice William Bedsworth said in a statement. "He is a hard worker who challenges assumptions and thinks through every consequence."

Thompson said he's looking forward to spending some time at the ocean before he returns to work.

Thompson was a litigation attorney with Rutan & Tucker, where he specialized in general business, construction defect and property related cases, and at Morrison & Foerster.

He graduated from UCLA School of Law and from Georgetown University.