Judge Robert Puglia

There is a hole in my heart today. Good bye my friend, mentor and former boss . . . you were certainly one of the best ever . . . I will always be grateful for the wisdom you shared, the encouragement you offered and the doors you opened.

I will never forget how, when you were engaged in a conversation at a public event, you would focus on that person as if he or she was the most important in the world - no matter how important those nearby might be. You made everyone you met feel important.

I will miss you Robert . . . ."Bobby"

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Judge Robert Puglia: A fine life

Conservative jurist's keen intellect shone in elegant legal opinions
By Steve Gibson -- Bee Staff Writer

Robert K. Puglia, a legal scholar who served 24 years as presiding justice of California's 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento, died Friday of complications from cancer.

The 75-year-old jurist, an avowed conservative known for his prodigious energy and whose gracefully written legal opinions reflect keen intellect and clear reasoning, retired from the bench in 1998.

His family terminated life support Thursday evening following surgery for a brain hemorrhage, said Dave Puglia, one of his sons.

A former prosecutor and trial lawyer, Mr. Puglia was appointed to Sacramento Superior Court in 1971 by Gov. Ronald Reagan. Three years later Reagan elevated him to the 3rd District court, which hears appeals from trial courts in 23 northern counties.

"Bob was extremely bright, terrific in the courtroom and very personable," said criminal defense attorney Hamilton Hintz, a longtime friend. "He had it all.

"As a judge, his intuition, his insight, his knowledge of the system, made it impossible for an attorney to put anything over on him. He was always one step ahead."

Mr. Puglia, who authored more than 4,000 opinions - more than 400 of them published - was an early voice for open government.

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