Is there life after being a workers' compensation judge in the California workers' compensation system? 

I've asked one former judge, Neil R. Robinson, about his recent appointment as a California Special Assistant Inspector General. I think you'll find his comments below quite interesting!

What does a California Special Assistant Inspector General do?
  I work in the Bureau of Independent Review – Medical Unit.  This is a new program at the Office of the Inspector General.  Our mission is to monitor investigations into unexpected death or great bodily injury where there may have been sub-optimal medical care.  We observe the Office of Internal Affairs, the investigative body, for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and their attorneys who are responsible for prosecuting discipline cases against corrections staff, when warranted by the investigation.  Special Assistant Inspector Generals accompany the investigative team to state prisons to secure and copy medical and other documents and track their work and recommendations until the case is concluded.  The daily work is dynamic and might involve legal research and writing, summarizing and analyzing medical records or being on call twenty-four hours a day to respond to an unexpected death.  Semi-annually we publish on our Web site, www.oig.ca.gov, a report of our findings making the investigative process as transparent as possible.  Naturally our monitoring work is strictly confidential and our publications eliminate identifying information. The medical unit was formed in response to a series of Federal District Court cases beginning with Plata v. Davis (2003) 329 F.3d 1101 (now renamed Plata v. Schwarzenegger) essentially requiring the State of California to bring their prison medical care up to constitutional standards.  Oversight is necessary to make sure inquisitors are motivated to conduct a thorough, objective investigation of the medical care delivery system in California's penal institutions.

Is a background in law a prerequisite for the job?
To become a Special Assistant Inspector General one must be a lawyer as well as peace officer in accord with California Penal Code Section 832.  At this time I have completed most of the necessary requirements to become a peace officer in terms of class work and practical training. Once the training is complete I will be a sworn peace officer as well as a member of the California Bar.  The legal background is essential since it is necessary to monitor the legal processes involved in the state disciplinary system.  Being a peace officer is also important due to the environment in which we are often called upon to work in and around.

Are you able to apply any of your workers' comp. expertise to the job?
Absolutely!  I have a great deal of experience analyzing medical issues in the context of workers' compensation.  That skill is essential to the issue-spotting that is necessary in the analysis of the quality of prison medical care.  Having some experience as a judge, which hopefully enables me to objectively look at medical and disciplinary issues, is also helpful. 

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? 
At first, it has been a challenge learning the language and procedures of the prison system, a skill I'm still acquiring.  At the same time I've been handling cases and attending extensive training in order for me to obtain necessary job skills.  Someone said it's like drinking from a fire hose, but the challenge is very exciting and fulfilling in a very supportive environment.

What is the most fun part of the job? 
I never thought I would say this, but one of the skills sets that I've been required to learn is the use of a handgun.  I have found this challenging but a lot of fun.  Obviously, peace officers use of firearms is an extremely serious endeavor carrying with it a great deal of responsibility, perhaps more responsibility than most members of our society possess.  Learning to carry and use a weapon safely and appropriately is the goal.  The fun and challenge has been acquiring the skill to shoot accurately and well in timed drills – something that I'm motivated to practice often, especially since I had never done this before.

I now have a fun workers' comp questionnaire for you, based in part on the Pivot Questionnaire:

What is your favorite work comp word or phrase?
"Your Honor, we have a settlement and all liens have been resolved."  If this happened three times in one day it was known as a "trifecta".

What is your least favorite workers' comp word or phrase? 
"We need a trial and the only issue is five years of retroactive VRMA pursuant to Elizando."

What turns you on in the workers' comp world?
The people that comprise the workers' compensation community are what turn me on most about workers' comp.  Workers' compensation practitioners have long been the stepchildren of the bar according to those who claim to practice sexier or more sophisticated areas of the law.  The people I know in workers' compensation are passionate about their law practices and try their best to represent often trying clients with difficult issues.   This has been especially evident in the last few years where the entire system has been affected by sweeping reform.

What turns you off in the workers' comp world?
I dislike the politicization of the workers' compensation court system.  In my over twenty years of workers' comp involvement there have been four major reform efforts.  The workers' compensation courts need to act like courts in other jurisdictions and establish procedural rules and policies that make sense for courts and ignore the cacophony of special interest voices.  Similarly, the legislature ought to stick with one system long enough for there to be consistency in the law through precedential decision making by the courts.  Changing the substantive law so frequently is a disservice to all participants and stakeholders since it unnecessarily complicates an already unwieldy and expensive litigation process.

What sound or noise did you love when you heard cases as a workers' comp judge?
I loved to hear the chatter among litigants that often permeated the background of the hearing room, or immediately outside the hearing room, especially on conference days.  Although I couldn't hear the content of those conversations, I know participants were working hard to refine issues and resolve disputes.  They were making the system work well for all involved in workers' compensation litigation, often with a great deal of success.

What sound or noise did you hate when you were a workers' comp judge?
I disliked the sound of silence that accompanied parties obviously late for the beginning of the calendar who offered no apology or explanation for their tardiness. Over the years, I kept a list of those excuses for being late that were offered after I inquired.  One attorney told me they were late because crop circles were discovered in Yolo County; another told me the building next to her office building was on fire – which of course may have delayed arrival.  However, my all time favorite was a late-arriving attorney sitting in the back of the hearing room looking a bit annoyed.  When asked why he was late, he told me he had been rushing to be on time at my insistence and crashed his new BMW into the rear end of another motorist waiting at a traffic light.  Obviously his accident had been my fault since I insisted on timeliness.  During the several occasions when I was unavoidably late I tried to always offer an apology to avoid the obvious appearance of hypocrisy. 

Which is your favorite workers' comp court decision?
Brodie et al v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2007) 40 Cal. 4th 1313, 72 Cal. Comp. Cases 565 is my favorite case, not because of the outcome but because of the process.  When the world of workers' compensation was turned upside-down on April 19, 2004 with sweeping reform, some advocates saw new opportunities to reshape the law.  Once the smoke cleared, Brodie ultimately did not change anything about the way in which apportionment was calculated, but the process brought out what was best in workers' compensation practice.  Lawyers buckled down and began again to assess those time-worn precedents we had all long taken for granted.  It forced lawyers and judges alike to reassess the law to understand fundamental principles and the reasons for them.  In the Brodie litigation, advocates for Applicants, Defendants and counsel for amicus curiae participants shined.  We should all be thankful for their work.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Since I have already changed professions from being a workers' compensation judge, I suppose this inquiry is a bit moot.  I have now tried to accomplish something new and different with my work at the Office of Inspector General.  Ultimately, I would like to be retired and free to pursue whatever seems interesting and fulfilling before the end of my working years.  My supervisor at DWC would have referred to this as yet another one of my "pie in the sky" ideas.

What profession would you not like to do?
I would dislike any occupation where your worth is solely dependent on the political process, not on the value of your contribution.