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When she was 17, she taught dance at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Before that, she'd never known the words cruelty and children to appear in the same sentence. She met kids with broken bones and black eyes, injuries not inflicted through normal playground bantering but at the hands of an abuser, many times a family member. The experience left a profound effect on her. She cared deeply for these kids. From that point on, Joyce Dudley has never strayed far from helping children. Once a director of a day care center, she has risen to become a senior deputy district attorney. Her name has been associated with some of the most disturbing and horrific crimes in Santa Barbara: rape, murder, and child molestation. Getting the bad guy off the streets is incredibly rewarding to her. "I have a passion for justice. When I hear about something that's been done to a kid or a woman, or someone's been mistreated because of some aspect of hate, this mother bear in me kicks in and I want justice," says Dudley, who is also a mother to four boys. "I feel equally passionate that if I don't think I can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, I don't file charges." Known for her energy and confidence in the courtroom, during her 14 years on the job Dudley has only received not guilty verdicts in two cases: one jury trial and one court trial. Both were misdemeanors that happened more than a dozen years ago. Former jurors Joanie Dominque and Faith Huxley describe her as a powerful woman with integrity. "I'd never want to be on the other side," said Huxley. Dudley has brought several high-profile cases to court: Victor Garcia Rodriguez, a 19-year-old man who was convicted of raping an 81-year-old woman; Martin Hartmann who was sentenced earlier this month to life without possibility of parole for murdering a gay man by setting fire to his apartment; Charles Ford, the 73-year-old Carpinteria man convicted of shooting a woman in the face, killing her; Carlos Catalan, charged with molesting his three relatives; and Timothy Furness, who has been charged with kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old girl in a church parking lot last month. Hard-hitting crimes to read about in the paper. No doubt tough to deal with on a daily basis. So, how does she cope with the emotional stress? "I do things everyday, because I know that every day will have a tremendous amount of sadness in it. Everyday I work out. Everyday I write. And everyday when I go home, I have a glass of wine," says Dudley. And she cries. While she's careful not to get so emotionally sucked into her cases that she can't be an effective lawyer, she allows herself to feel the pain. "The minute you stop caring, it's time to get out of the business," she says. The Makings of a Book Drawing from experiences in her life and career, Dudley has written the crime novel Justice Served, which looks at child molestation from both the victim and the defendant's side. While an uncomfortable subject for many, the book is a compelling read that will surprise you, as you find yourself caring as much for the perpetrators as the victims.
It's a book that Dudley told an audience at a recent book signing she "had to" write. "The passion was so intense it was like falling in love. Writing this book became an obsession," she said. Her main character, Jordon Danner, described as "being at the top of her game," shares the same initials and job as Dudley. She is essentially "Joyce on steroids," according to the author. While Dudley is equally as attractive and brilliant in real life as her counterpart is depicted, Jordon doesn't share the warmth of her creator. Joyce Dudley doesn't yell at her husband or tell it straight to judges the way Jordon Danner does, but she works just as hard. Of Dudley's current caseload, about 20 deal with child molestation or sexual abuse/assault charges. The idea for Justice Served was conceived while hiking with her husband, John, in the mountains where the couple owns a getaway. Ten days and 600 handwritten pages later she had the beginnings of her story. What took ten days to write, took five years to edit. "I wanted my characters to be brutally honest, so I wrote and re-wrote," she says. And she did her homework, interviewing prisoners who were serving sentences for child abuse because as a prosecutor, she could never speak openly with the accused. She also sat in on a counseling session at the California Men's Colony, where one inmate compared himself to a shark and his victim to a baby seal. Therapy is a vital piece of the puzzle, according to Dudley, who acknowledges that abusers are often victims of violence or abuse themselves. However, sentencing options and more avenues for counseling just don't exist. "Your taxes are paying my salary," says Dudley. "You'd like me to get rehabilitation for these child molesters, but you're also paying me to make sure these people aren't out there to hurt more kids." She concedes that not everyone responds to treatment. "You can't generalize. You can't castrate everyone. You can't put everyone in verbal therapy. The trick is investing enough time and energy into figuring out what makes a molester molest." While the book is based on her actual cases and those of co-worker Ron Zonen, it's considered fiction because it's a compilation of cases, not the A-to-Z of a single offense. A second book currently in the works, entitled Intoxicating Agent, picks up where Jordon Danner leaves off in Justice Served. However, rather than focus on child molestation again, Dudley will delve into elder abuse and utilize the extensive arson research she conducted during the Martin Hartmann case. "I like books that entertain and teach," she says. Her Path to Justice While her career maintains a steady focus, her education reveals anything but a narrow path, resembling instead a zigzag pattern that began as a freshman at the renowned High School for The Performing Arts (same one as in the movie, "Fame"). She found the program to be pro-anorexic and transferred to a public school the next year. Between her junior and senior years, she entered Carnegie-Mellon University to try her hand at architecture. She completed the high-pressure four-week program before moving on.
Like a sponge with a thirst for new experiences, Dudley frequently changed colleges. "I had a passion for life and a passion for fun. I would be in Maine, and say, 'this isn't intellectually stimulating enough. Leave Maine.'" Then, Dudley might find some place that was intellectually stimulating enough but would realize that now, "I'm not having enough fun." And on she would go. After hitchhiking through Santa Barbara in the early '70s, she applied to UCSB, a decision that culminated in a psychology degree. Despite the flittering about, Dudley completed college with honors within four years. She also acquired two master's degrees in Education and then later, a Juris Doctorate from the Santa Barbara College of Law. She had been attending law school three nights a week, but thought about giving it up after son Sam was born. She was encouraged to continue when her husband told her he wanted those nights alone with the kids regardless. District Attorney Tom Sneddon hired Dudley fresh out of law school. Also a trial advocacy professor, Sneddon actively recruited her because "she was one of the stars in my class." "Joyce is a good prosecutor not because of her win/loss record," said Sneddon. "Joyce is a real people person. I knew she would work well with victims and witnesses." Outside The Halls of Justice Dudley maintains a small circle of friends, "about five," she says. With her full schedule, that's about all she can afford, but she has tons of acquaintances, some of whom are victims from her former cases. She readily hugs any one of them.
While she admits holding back on becoming friends with the victims at first, she says that once the trial and any pending appeals are over, she feels free to begin a friendship. "I've done that a couple of times, and each time it's been very rewarding," says Dudley. One victim, who asked not to be identified, said over the phone, "She stuck by me and gave me friendship when I really needed it. I know she'll always be there." Married three times, Dudley's four sons are the result of a blended family of his, hers, and theirs. John and Joyce were best friends and running partners before the two married, almost 18 years ago. They maintain a healthy relationship by doing things together (riding bikes, hiking, entertaining) and by asking each other questions about their happiness and listening to the answers. Theirs is a marriage of equals. "We split everything. There are no roles," she says. Dinnertime was always a daily ritual at the Dudley home, as were "Happies and Sads." "At bedtime, we all had to say one thing that made us happy and one thing that made us sad that day," explains Dudley. "Our lives were so complicated I wanted to make sure I knew what was happening." Despite all this, Dudley thinks she could have been a better mom. "All moms love their kids and want to be better mothers," she says. "I look back on our trip to Tahoe. There's a photo of my beautiful children on a beach, and I'm sitting at my laptop working on the book." Stepson Chris admits the book "was on the daily schedule," but rather than feel jealous of it, all the kids are extremely proud of her. "She's really a supermom," says stepson Mike. In a day that often begins at 3 a.m., Dudley still finds time to teach law school one night a week, participate in the Boys & Girls Club, and instruct other law enforcement personnel. She accepted her appointment to the board of Boys & Girls Club because, among other things, she wanted to ensure that children would have a safe place to play; and if a child had been abused, that there would be a safe place to disclose it. Dudley has received a multitude of awards and honors from the "Woman of Distinction" to a "Shining Star" from the Rape Crisis Center. But her most treasured honor is motherhood. Well, that and the H. Thomas Guerry Award, recently given to her by the Citizens Council on Crime for superior performance.
Justice Served can be purchased locally at Borders and Chaucers. You can also buy the book and learn more about Joyce on her Web site: http://www.dudleybook.com/. |
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©2004 Santa Barbara News-Press