COURT OF WIT NEWHALL JUDGE BRINGS NEW TONE.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

NEWHALL - A high profile Los Angeles judge who recently transferred to the quaint Newhall courthouse brought with him a biting sense of humor and refreshing judicial style.

Besides paying their speeding tickets, visitors to Judge Lloyd M. Nash's morning traffic court also get brisk and witty lessons on common sense.

``He's got a little saying for almost anything - he's a constant barrage of puns on a daily basis,'' said Judge Michael E. Knight, who worked with Nash for more than 10 years in Van Nuys Superior Court and before that at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Nash was named presiding judge for the Newhall branch of the Los Angeles Superior Court in November, after more than a decade on the Van Nuys bench. He brings a new tone to the valley court.

``Part of being a judge is being an educator and a social worker - there's all kinds of facets to the job,'' Nash said. ``I try to have a courtroom that's a little bit lighter, where people feel more at ease.''

At a hearing in July, a mother who had been pulled over for driving 100 mph with her toddler in the car told Nash that she sped because she wasn't paying attention.

Peering at her over his reading glasses as he read her case file, Nash flatly commented: ``When the other cars are going backwards ... you're speeding.''

Last year, the 51-year-old New York native presided over the highly publicized Robert Blake preliminary hearing in Van Nuys, where he earned the reputation of being intelligent and level-headed, according to Cary W. Goldstein, who had represented Blake's wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, before she was shot to death.

``He's open-minded, fair and he shows lawyers respect,'' said Goldstein, who is also a legal commentator for shows such as ``Court TV'' and ``Celebrity Justice.'' ``His ego doesn't get in the way.''

The Newhall courthouse marks a change of pace for Nash, who had worked in Van Nuys since 1989 when Gov. George Deukmejian appointed him to the bench. During the Blake case, Nash came under media scrutiny, his name often splashed across the pages of the national news.

Now, Nash presides over traffic and arraignments in a town with one of the lowest crime rates in the nation.

``It's refreshing in the sense that I'm dealing with regular citizens,'' Nash said. ``There is more stress associated with high profile cases.''

Wednesday was Nash's birthday, and the wise-cracking judge sat in his chambers with a Men's Health magazine and an open can of Coke on his desk, amid layers of official court documents.

His office decor, which includes autographed photographs of Joe DiMaggio, John Wayne and Judge Wapner from the TV show ``People's Court,'' is a clue to the judge's lighter side.

As the judge entered the courtroom for afternoon hearings, he joked about his age. Responding to a clerk who wished him a happy birthday, in open court, Nash said: ``I remember when Snoop Dog was a pup ... when Burger King was a prince. ... You want me to keep going?''

``He remembers when the Dead Sea was only sick - that's him, that's his personality,'' Knight said.

Nash's courtroom style also is a change of pace for the usually fearful Santa Clarita Valley defendants whose cases he hears.

A nervous-looking 22-year-old truck driver named Jesus Garcia was in court Wednesday, He had been cited because his rig was over the weight limit at the Golden State Freeway truck scales near Magic Mountain.

``Holy smokes, they even filed a misdemeanor,'' Nash said to Garcia. ``What do you want to do?''

Garcia apologized and said he would pay the fine. Outside the courtroom, he looked relieved.

``He seems like a funny person that you could hang around with ... but he does his job,'' Garcia said.

Nash attended school in Los Angeles, joining the District Attorney's Office in 1983 after a brief stint as a car salesman in Santa Monica.

He is the youngest of three brothers, one an elementary school principal in Seattle, the other a judge in the Los Angeles juvenile court system.

Despite his background as a prosecutor, the married father of two carries as good a reputation with Santa Clarita's deputy public defenders as he does with the deputy district attorneys.

``He's a great judge,'' said Deputy Public Defender Bernie LaForteza.

Nicholas Grudin, [phone]

nicholas.grudin(at)dailynews.com

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Judge Lloyd M. Nash, at morning traffic court in Newhall, says his job requires being part educator and social worker but that he tries to keep the courtroom tone light. Nash was the judge in Robert Blake's preliminary hearing in Van Nuys Superior Court.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer