Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Sandoval, who was one of the city's first openly gay prosecutors, has died. He was 56. Sandoval died Feb. 28 of a heart attack while being treated for leukemia at City of Hope Hospital, said Bill Martin, his partner of 23 years. Sandoval joined the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office in 1978 as part of an effort by then-City Attorney Burt Pines to recruit more gays and minorities. He was elected a commissioner of the Municipal Court in 1984 and became a Superior Court commissioner in 1997. Then-Gov. Gray Davis appointed him to...