Candidate for
Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 61

Jacqueline Lewis has seventeen years of experience serving as a judicial officer on the Los Angeles Superior Court bench. She began her judicial service in 1997 and served as a Juvenile Court Referee for 11 years. She was later elected by the judges of Los Angeles County to serve as a Superior Court Commissioner where she has sat for the past six years. For the entirety of her tenure, she has performed the work of a judge, and her decisions have had the same effect as those of a judge.

For the vast majority of her 17 years as a judicial officer, Jacqueline was assigned to the Juvenile Dependency Court where she worked diligently to protect abused and neglected children and to help families reunite whenever possible. She also strived to find permanent homes for children who could not be reunited with their families. The Juvenile Court Judges of California recognized Jacqueline's extraordinary contributions to the child welfare system by naming her the 2010 California Juvenile Court Judge of the Year.

Jacqueline has an expertise in domestic violence commencing with a law school internship in 1988. For the entirety of her professional life, she has been committed to raising awareness regarding domestic violence and lessening its impact on children. She has presented statewide trainings on domestic violence for judges, social workers, lawyers and other stakeholders. She was the primary author/editor of the Los Angeles County Dependency Court Domestic Violence Guidelines. In 2011, those guidelines became the foundation of the Judge's Guide to Domestic Violence in Dependency Cases published by the Administrative Office of the Courts. In 2013, she was named the recipient of the Betty Fisher Award "in recognition for outstanding leadership in improving the lives of domestic violence victims and for exemplary commitment toward protecting these survivors and their children."

In 2004, Jacqueline compiled the Dependency Case Law Index (a written synopsis of all published Appellate and Supreme Court dependency decisions) to aid and provide a legal resource to all California Juvenile Court Judges. She has continuously updated the Index and has distributed it throughout the state for use by judges and practitioners. She regularly presents Legal Update trainings to Judges and practitioners statewide. Additionally, for over a decade, she has trained every new judge who has been assigned to the Los Angeles Juvenile Dependency Court.

Jacqueline received her undergraduate degree in 1986 from Loyola Marymount University and her law degree in 1990 from Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley. She then served six years as an attorney representing the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in juvenile dependency proceedings prior to her appointment to the bench.

For the last 21 years, Jacqueline has been proudly married to Richard Lewis, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sergeant. Together they are raising two beautiful children. Jacqueline has, for many years, been actively involved in her local community through her volunteer work.