{"id":42851,"date":"2012-04-01T14:45:45","date_gmt":"2012-04-01T22:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=42851"},"modified":"2012-04-01T15:16:26","modified_gmt":"2012-04-01T23:16:26","slug":"craig-van-rooyen-was-always-out-of-my-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=42851","title":{"rendered":"Craig Van Rooyen Was Always Out Of My Reach"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent my last three years of high school at Placer<\/a>. It was my first time at a public school. Before then, I’d always gone to Christian schools.<\/p>\n

I loved the opportunities and freedom of public school but it was an awkward social transition. A Seventh-Day Adventist, I didn’t drink or smoke or swear and I never went to one party (until the night of my graduation, when I got drunk).<\/p>\n

I was lucky to have some friends who shared my Adventist heritage, such as Doug Badzik and Craig Van Rooyen. But they didn’t go to Placer with me. They went to Christian high schools. <\/p>\n

On the Sabbath, we’d often meet up. On that day of restriction, we’d often go for long walks or just hang out and talk. <\/p>\n

I guess I was pretty obnoxious. I had a smart mouth and I was always cutting people down. I was looking to break the rules. I was very concerned about getting ahead and aggrandizing myself. <\/p>\n

On Sundays, we’d sometimes play touch football. I remember one day in particular. I had a blonde girl on my team. She was only the second girl to French-kiss me but the first one who showed me how to enjoy it. All my skill at kissing, such as it is, comes from her.<\/p>\n

On defense, I’d try to guard Craig, who played receiver. On this particular day, he caught everything thrown at him. He go long or he’d go short and he always got the ball. I resorted to tackling him but still couldn’t stop him. I remember one play where the ball was under-thrown. We both came back to it and we both leaped in the air for it and I smashed into him as hard as possible and he still caught the ball. <\/p>\n

In February of 1988, I got sick and spent most of the next six years in bed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I largely lost touch with my friends. <\/p>\n

Occasionally, we reconnected. Doug told me in the summer of 1992 that his memories of me at Forest Lake Christian School “are not fond. Luke Ford was an arrogant little turd who was always right regardless of whether he was right…. Whatever his arguments lacked in substance, he made up for in verve and raw rhetorical abilities…. Luke frequently seemed illogical.”<\/p>\n

Today I find myself Googling them. <\/p>\n

Doug is now a doctor for the U.S. Army. He’s stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany.<\/p>\n

Craig became a journalist and then a lawyer at a big San Francisco law firm. We exchanged email and a phone call around 1998.<\/p>\n

He wrote poetry on the side and was published in such places as The Christian Century<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Converting to Judaism alienated me from many of the friends I had growing up. Whenever I got in touch with most of them, they had their guard up. I’d try to stay in touch but it takes two to play that game.<\/p>\n

Or maybe it is just my own personal failings. Perhaps I can’t blame it on Judaism. <\/p>\n

When I get sick, like today, I want to reconnect with my old friends. When I’m well, I’m more focused on getting ahead. <\/p>\n

On May 9, 2011, Craig Van Rooyen was profiled in the San Louis Obispo Tribune<\/em><\/a>. As I read the article, it reminds me of what a righteous guy he was and how much I miss him:<\/p>\n

\nMan who\u2019s worked for county in Dan De Vaul and Carson Starkey cases left prestigious San Francisco firm to reconnect with human aspect of law<\/p>\n

Like 32 other county prosecutors in similar shoes, Craig Van Rooyen\u2019s work requires a complicated juggling act: keeping the community safe and holding those who have committed crimes accountable while avoiding wrongful accusations.<\/p>\n

Though his job is not extraordinary as prosecution work goes \u2014 despite handling some unusual and controversial cases \u2014 Van Rooyen\u2019s experience provides insight into the thinking that goes into being a courtroom enforcer of the law. Among other things, the job entails making tough decisions that determine whether people spend time in jail.<\/p>\n

No matter the nature of the cases, which can be heinous and gruesome, or the great amount of influence that prosecutors have, the goal should never be \u201cto win at all costs,\u201d Van Rooyen said.
\nWell-prepared, serious, persuasive and humble, Van Rooyen displays traits of an effective prosecutor, according to colleagues.
\n\u201cYou want the evidence to be speaking to the jury, and Craig knows how to do that very well,\u201d said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran. \u201cA court trial should not be a personality contest between attorneys.\u201d
\nIt was just five years ago that Van Rooyen had an office with a view in a high-rise building in San Francisco as a partner in a prestigious civil litigation firm. But he left the job to do his current work.
\n\u201cWith some legal work, you feel like you\u2019re just pushing along files,\u201d said Van Rooyen, who also had a four-year stint as a prosecutor in Riverside County. \u201cI wanted to reconnect with the human aspect of law. Speaking up for victims who have been bullied is satisfying.\u201d
\nVan Rooyen said he takes particular satisfaction in helping victims who might otherwise be ignored.
\n\u201cWhether it\u2019s the homeless guy who has been assaulted, the low-income family victimized by gang violence or a domestic violence victim who doesn\u2019t know how to stick up for herself, everybody deserves the same protection under the law,\u201d he said. \u201cIronically, I\u2019m sure a public defender would say his or her greatest satisfaction is speaking up for marginalized people accused of crimes. And I don\u2019t dispute that as a noble calling also.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since starting as a local prosecutor in 2007, Van Rooyen has handled a wide variety of cases.
\nEvery prosecutor has a different style, but Van Rooyen\u2019s polite, affable and seemingly effortless approach helps a jury to \u201cunderstand the evidence, look at it carefully and go back and discuss it logically,\u201d Gran said.
\nThe tall, thin man who dresses in neatly pressed suits often wears an expression in court of concern and thoughtfulness \u2014 and listens with careful attention to detail.
\nHis work has included the prosecution of a group of college students whose hazing resulted in the death of Cal Poly freshman Carson Starkey; Dan De Vaul, a high-profile San Luis Obispo rancher charged with property code violations; and a 16-year-old charged as an adult with rape.
\nVan Rooyen has developed a reputation for being conscientious and fair.
\n\u201cProsecutors have a lot of responsibility to the people of California, crime victims, law enforcement, as well as to reach out across the table to defense attorneys professionally,\u201d said defense attorney Paul Phillips, who recently opposed Van Rooyen in a three-strikes burglary case. \u201cCraig is very, very fair. He\u2019s a good servant of the people. He doesn\u2019t have a hidden agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

…Van Rooyen helps the homeless as a volunteer with his wife, Mimi, a local orthopedic surgeon. With members of their Seventh-day Adventist Church, they serve hot breakfasts at the Prado Day Center. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Craig’s little brother Andre<\/a> is a psychologist in Los Angeles. Their dad, Smuts<\/a>, is one of the church’s great speakers and counselors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent my last three years of high school at Placer. It was my first time at a public school. Before then, I’d always gone to Christian schools. I loved the opportunities and freedom of public school but it was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t