Over the last 25 years, Los Angeles County voters have elected just two people from the public defender’s office to a Superior Court judge seat. But there’s a growing push toward getting more people with defense backgrounds on the bench.
This year, a slate of three defense attorneys calling themselves the “Defenders of Justice” is hoping to win seats on the bench. The candidates are: La Shae Henderson, George Turner and Ericka Wiley.
Historically, voters have overwhelmingly elected judges with prosecutorial experience. And although some California governors, including Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown, have made it a point to appoint defense lawyers to judicial seats, the L.A. County Superior Court bench is comprised of many more former prosecutors.
Criminal justice reform advocates say judges with defense backgrounds — either public or private — can balance out the tough-on-crime rhetoric that has led to mass incarceration. And they say former defense attorneys can bring diversity to a bench that now has a range of alternatives to incarceration at its disposal.
‘Defenders of Justice’ candidates
As a deputy public defender for 18 years, La Shae Henderson said she’s seen how the criminal justice system touches lives, not just for the defendants, judges and lawyers, but also the families.
It’s part of the reason Henderson tried to bring a client’s full story into the courtroom, she said.
“This is a human being. This is a life. This is a person … they’re struggling right now, give them a second chance,” said Henderson, who is now an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and teaches juvenile rights.
She remembered a client…
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