Toilers in the vineyards of the Opinion pages know that the majority, perhaps all, of our most important endorsements are ones made at the local level. Easily the most obscure, low-information and yet key races are the ones on your ballot for Superior Court judges.
The picks we’ve published so far are among the most-read takes on any of our newspapers’ websites as subscribers look for help from our group of editorial writers who have spent dozens of hours in recent weeks interviewing lawyers who want to sit on the bench, or stay there.
Only I’m going to be no help at all right now when I say that after having long conversations with each of the four attorneys running for Office No. 65 on the Superior Court, they’re all really good and dedicated people, and who to recommend a vote for is a super-hard call to make.
Justin Clayton, Chellei Jimenez, Samuel Krause and Anna Reitano are all rated “Qualified” by the L.A. County Bar, and they are. There could be no bad vote. Just four of our neighbors, all of whom you could trust to be fair and smart as a judge.
Reitano, who many people recall as young actress Anna Slotky from TV shows and movies like “Home Alone,” gave up Hollywood 25 years ago for a legal career, and it’s been a brilliant one since graduating Oxy and UC Davis Law. In L.A., she’s worked on the prosecution side, spent 10 years as a public defender and now is a deputy county counsel. She got into a runoff for a judge’s seat four years ago, politicking while pregnant. She waxed eloquent on so many issues, from some judges being too old, including an 86-year-old who was falling asleep during a murder trial, to her Bar rating: “It should have been ‘well-qualified’ instead; I think it’s because I was a defense attorney.” I asked her why she deserves our vote: “I think people want judges who are experienced rather than someone who can just flash a smile. Adaptable. Willing to work hard. I don’t need to stay comfortable. I need to do right by the law.”
Chellei Jimenez had an amazing entree into the law. As her parents were in the middle of a bitter divorce involving domestic violence, she decided at age 11 to become a family-law attorney. She chose her law school, Whittier, because it had an accelerated 2.5-year program. She speaks Spanish, and has a thriving private practice in the Antelope Valley. :”People say you’re not a public defender or DA,” she says, “but I remind them we have all these different kinds of courts in L.A. County. I have been in trials every single day this week, and I’ve been a judge pro tem all over the county. I don’t only manage my trials but I manage people, and I know how to move cases efficiently in the courtroom. And as part of my nonprofit Blessed Foundation we go out and talk to the homeless, we gather funds so we can give food and resources to people, including after the Eaton fire.”
Samuel Krause grew up in the Valley, went to CSUN and now teaches business law there. He notes that after a botched recent operation that temporarily left him paralyzed and now has him walking with a cane, he brings a unique perspective as a person with a disability. A private attorney, he’s also done a lot of volunteer pro tem judging. He says: “I had a lot of time to think after my injury, and I just want to do some good. I’ve had a lot of good luck in my life and i just want to be of service. I’m a true believer in the system, but it’s ours to lose. I want to step up and help the system run right.” He told me a wonderful story: “My family and I were in D.C. five or six years ago, and I took my son to see a copy of the Constitution at the Smithsonian. I launched into a speech about how much this means to me, and my son turns to me and says, ‘Dad, that was so beautiful, it made the guard cry!’”
Justin Clayton is a young public defender who grew up in South L.A. and was bused to fancier LAUSD schools in Brentwood and Pacific Palisades, which he notes gave him a perspective on the whole of the county. He played football at the University of New Mexico, and joined the Public Defender’s Office after law school. He’s the former president of the Black Public Defenders Association and is endorsed by the county Democratic Party. He wants to see a justice and prison system more focused on mental health and treatment. “I bring a different perspective than those who are running against me,” he says. “I’m a community member who wants to be an inspiration to my family and my children.”
Four fine potential judges, one of whom will win.
Write the public editor at lwilson@scng.com