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# Here Come the Judges, and No One Knows Who They Are
February 27 2020
Written by Tony Butka.
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**EASTSIDER**-It’s a sad truth. Every year I look at the races for LA County Superior Court and feel guilty, because I have no idea what I’m doing.
And yet, as a practical matter, these elections are for life, unless the incumbent does something really, really bad -- as in, enough to get you thrown out.
So this year, let’s try to sort out the races. These recommendations come with a caveat: as my CityWatch colleague Richard Lee Abrams (who covers the judiciary on an ongoing basis) says, if you don’t know who the candidate is, don’t vote for a prosecutor. I think there is merit to his observation.
On the other hand, these votes are important. I have prepared a list of the seats and candidates, comparing primarily the LA Progressive’s recommendations, against the endorsements of the East Area Progressive Democrats, and the Northeast Democrats (NEDC). With no further ado, here they are:
**Reasoning
I used the LA Progressive as my default for two reasons. First, the publisher is Sharon Kyle, a very active ACLU member. Needless to say, she’s an attorney and very knowledgeable about social justice issues.
The second reason is that they produced a very insightful article called [Judging the Judges](https://www.laprogressive.com/judging-the-judges-march-2020/).
In it they provide valuable links to the LA County Bar Association’s Ratings of the candidates, as well as a link to other sites about judges. It’s well worth the read.
In terms of endorsements differing from the above, the EAPD made no endorsement in Seat 145, and in Seat 162, endorsed Caree Harper. Similarly, the Northeast Dems had No Endorsement for Seat 72, endorsed Adan Montalban for Seat 145, and had No Endorsement for Seat 162.
If you really want to get into the weeds, you can check out the candidates’ social media presence. Most have either a website, Facebook, or Twitter presence.
**The Takeaway
There you have it, an actual short article from me. Seriously, these judges have an enormous impact on the lives of Angelenos, and once elected, are usually in for life (in this case meaning retirement). I thought it was important to post something before the election date, so that at least a minimum of thought and/or research goes into people’s votes.
*(Tony Butka is an Eastside community activist, who has served on a neighborhood council, has a background in government and is a contributor to CityWatch.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*
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