Los Angeles County elections of Superior Court judges are notoriously hard to vote on, but concerns about a committee that issues ratings on each candidate are making it harder.
This election cycle, 28 candidates are vying for 10 seats on the L.A. County Superior Court, which you can learn about in our Voter Game Plan. These are people who could, if elected, end up hearing things like your divorce or traffic ticket dispute.
But it’s a race with notoriously little information, which is why the L.A. County Bar Association (LACBA) — a private, volunteer membership group unaffiliated with the state bar — assesses candidates each judicial election to help you figure out who could be fit for the bench, with ratings ranging from “not qualified,” “qualified,” “well qualified” and “exceptionally well qualified.”
A good rating is highly sought after and it can help a candidate get more endorsements and votes, but some candidates say a bad rating can sink a campaign before it begins.
This year, for one seat, LACBA rated both candidates running as “not qualified.” It’s renewed concerns the reviewers have a bias against attorneys with certain backgrounds, such as women, people of color and non-prosecutors like public defenders. Of the committee’s 38 members, only five have current public defender backgrounds. It leaves voters with more questions than answers.
A ‘not qualified’ candidate’s perspective
Recently, a reader wrote into us asking what they should do about the seat where both candidates were rated as not qualified.
In the Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 124 both Emily Theresa Spear and Kimberly…
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