Candidate for
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 28

I have been a deputy district attorney for the County of Los Angeles for over twenty-four years and believe that I have the character and experience that make me particularly well suited for the position of Superior Court Judge. For much of my career I have prosecuted serious violent crimes. In this role I have demonstrated the ability to make critical decisions in a fair and even-handed manner. I have also trained prosecutors and law enforcement on how to effectively investigate and prosecute crimes. I have always stressed that prosecutors and law enforcement must act with the highest level of integrity.

I am presently assigned to the Van Nuys Branch. In this assignment I function in a dual role as a special trials deputy and a calendar deputy. As a special trials deputy I carry a case load of high priority cases, which are primarily homicides. As a calendar I am responsible for handling the prosecution of cases assigned to my courtroom. In this role I handle the prosecution of almost every type of crime the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office prosecutes. During my career I have prosecuted in excess of one hundred homicides and have tried over thirty homicide jury trials. I regularly provide training to prosecutors and law enforcement in the area of Constitutional Law, such as warrantless search and seizure, search warrant preparation and execution, interview and interrogation law. I also provide training on case preparation and homicide investigations. I have also provided training for the National College of District Attorneys on developments in Constitutional Law for Prosecutors and Ethics in Homicide Investigations.

Prior to my current assignment I was assigned to the Training Division for six years. While in that assignment I provided training to deputies in my office in the areas of felony sentencing, search and seizure, theories of criminal liability, motion practice, and trial advocacy. I have also provided training for the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the California District Attorney's Association, and the National College of District Attorneys. My other area of primary responsibility was coordinating the training provided by the District Attorney's Office to law enforcement agencies. My areas of expertise included criminal procedure, search and seizure law, search warrant preparation and execution, theories of criminal liability, courtroom testimony, and the law relating to homicide prosecutions.

Prior to my assignment to the Training Division, I was assigned to the Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division for four years. While in that assignment, my primary focus became Cal/OSHA workplace fatality investigations. During that assignment I helped develop a new protocol for Cal/OSHA to use in conjunction with law enforcement during workplace fatality investigations, for both the Los Angeles area and in a modified form, statewide. I was very involved in working on the passage of AB1127, which amended the Labor Code and significantly strengthened the criminal penalties for workplace safety violations which caused serious injury or death in California. I also handled numerous significant cases, including the criminal investigation into several workplace fatalities that occurred during the construction on the Metro Red Line and the first jury trial of a criminal workplace fatality case in Los Angeles in several years (People v. Morton International, et al. BA108975).

I was assigned to the Hardcore Gang Division for eight and a half years prior to Environmental Crimes. In that assignment I prosecuted over one hundred murder cases, including twenty-seven jury trials. I prosecuted cases in the Van Nuys, San Fernando, and Santa Monica Courthouses, and the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Many of these cases were high profile prosecutions and involved complex legal issues. One of my most notable accomplishments was obtaining the first felony conviction in Los Angeles County for a violation of Penal Code §186.22(b), the S.T.E.P. Act/gang enhancement. This Penal Code section increased the amount of prison time defendants received when the crime they committed was gang related.

My background establishes that I have both the practical experience, and the necessary character and temperament to be a judicial officer. Throughout my career, I have displayed sound legal reasoning, a dedicated work ethic, and the ability to be fair and even handed when making difficult decisions.