League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 7, 2006 Election
	Michele McKay McCoy Answers Questions Candidate for Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 13

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. As a judge, you may be called upon to impose sentences for crimes ranging from misdemeanors to homicide. While there are sentencing parameters and guidelines, you will have latitude. What factors and principles/values will affect your decisions?

Any judge's personal opinions are irrelevant to sentencing. A judge must follow the law at all times.

Many crimes, called non-alternative felonies, require a prison sentence by law, and probation is not possible. All crimes punishable with a life sentence (torture, murder, aggravated sexual assault of a child) fall into this category. So do some crimes without a life sentence (rape, forcible child molesting, furnishing drugs to a minor).

For those crimes which are probation eligible, the law requires a judge to consider a list of factors concerning both the crime and the criminal, such as the defendant's prior criminal history, if any, and whether force or violence was used in the commission of the crime.

Similar factors, set forth by statute, are used to determine prison sentences. Felonies which do not have life sentences have determinate sentences. Each count of child abuse, for example, is punishable by two, four or six years in state prison. The midterm, four years, is the presumed sentence. The mitigated term or two years or the aggravated term of six years may be imposed if specific facts relating to the crime and/or the criminal are present.

Misdemeanors, such as a first offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, often carry a mandatory minimum sentence, again proscribed by law.

In no case should a judge rely on something as unreliable as a subjective "feeling" about a particular case.

2. Please describe your experience in civil and criminal cases.

In more than twenty years as a prosecutor I prosecuted murderers, rapists, child molesters, child abusers, and other violent offenders in jury trials. Because of my experience and ability to teach other prosecutors how to effectively and ethically try cases, I taught at statewide conferences for prosecutors for many years. I continue to teach police officers how to investigate child abuse and child homicide cases.

My experience in civil cases is limited to some family law cases I handled when I was just out of law school.

3. Would you propose any changes to assure there is no appearance of bias in the courtroom including, but not limited to, bias based on disability, gender identity, age, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation?

Even the appearance of bias is completely unacceptable in a courtroom. It is up to the judge to ensure that the words and actions of every member of his or her staff and the attorneys, as well as the judge himself or herself, are free from bias.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: November 4, 2006 07:17
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