Judge Antolini lauded for 40 years of service

When he was 5 years old, doctors told Lawrence Antolini he would be crippled by polio.

The disease has certainly slowed him down, but at age 67, the longtime Sonoma County Superior Court judge still has no intention of letting it get the best of him.

Following a double hip replacement last year, Antolini had both knees completely rebuilt last month. He is resting and rehabilitating and plans to return to the bench this summer.

"So many people had polio and were paralyzed," he said during a recent interview in his chambers in the Hall of Justice. "I'm lucky I was able to remain active."

Antolini is celebrating 40 years as an attorney in Sonoma County this year, including 26-plus as a judge.

Antolini, who goes by the name Gary when not on the bench, began his Sonoma County law career in 1967 as a deputy public defender. He then switched sides and spent 14 years as a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office.

In 1980, he was elected to the Municipal Court and five years later, Gov. George Deukmejian appointed Antolini to the Superior Court bench, where he now oversees dozens of felony criminal cases each day in Courtroom Three.

His career on the bench has included assignments in the civil, family law and criminal divisions.

"I've done every assignment there is over the years," he said.

He's no stranger to big cases and controversial decisions.

When the state's three strikes law was put into action in local courts, Antolini took a stand, calling it excessive for nonviolent violations.

The law would have called for an eight-year sentence for a man convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana while in jail on another charge. Antolini defied the new sentencing law and sentenced Jeffrey Dean Missamore to one year in county jail, three years probation and a residential drug rehabilitation program.

The state Supreme Court two years later sided with a San Diego judge who made a similar ruling and essentially affirmed Antolini's decision.

"That one I was very proud of," he said. "That's what I think I was supposed to be doing."

Antolini also presided over much of the Richard Allen Davis trial in Polly Klaas' murder in 1995 until he granted a change of venue motion that sent the case to Santa Clara County, where a jury convicted Davis, and a judge there sentenced him to death.

Antolini grew up in San Anselmo at the heels of his father, also named Lawrence, but who went by "Laurie." The elder Antolini ran a dry cleaning shop that served as a gathering place for a wide spectrum of intelligent, interesting people.

Listening to them debate societal ills spurred an interest in law for the young Antolini.

"There were Presbyterians, Catholics, Jews, atheists, authors, quite a few attorneys, all talking politics," Antolini said. "I'd just sit quietly and listen. I learned the importance of law and how it governs society."

He attended the College of Marin before earning a bachelor's degree in political science and pre-law from San Francisco State University. He earned his law degree at Hastings.

Antolini moved to Sonoma County in the mid-1960s, raising two children who have made him a grandfather of three.

He was the founding dean of Empire Law School in Santa Rosa. Established in 1972, it has grown into an accredited private law school that boasts many past and present local attorneys and judges on its faculty.

The county this month marked Antolini's four decades of public service. "Gary Antolini is, and has been, a principled and hard working public servant for decades," said presiding Superior Court Judge Knoel Owen. "We, on the bench, are grateful for his enthusiastic, unselfish work ethic along with his willingness to share the lessons of his experience."

Antolini said he still stands a bit taller when he dons his black robe. He has no immediate plans to retire.

"The system, I really believe, is larger than any of us. I believe that is the strength of our country," he said. "The robe I still put on every day stands for something . . . I still enjoy it and believe in it. I'm here because I want to be."

A second-generation American, Antolini said he hopes to become active enough as his knees get stronger to visit Mount Antola, the area near Milan, Italy, from where his family hails.

For now, he spends his days recuperating at home with his wife, Mary, and their house full of bounding German short-haired pointer bird dogs.

The couple is active in the German shorthaired pointer rescue group and is temporarily "fostering" one dog and living with four other permanent fixtures in the home.

"My legs are now straight, which is such a wonderful, wonderful sensation," he said. "The doctors had to teach me how to walk again."

He said his doctor told him he'll be able to dance again and even play doubles tennis if he wants.

"I just want to walk the dogs," he said. "Mary has talked about going to the beach to walk them and that would be great."

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 568-5312 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.