The Los Angeles County Bar Association
Announces 2000 Judicial Evaluations

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:  

Michael T. Elliott 213-896-6450 telliott@lacba.org

Barbara Seidel 213-896-6427

LOS ANGELES - February 10, 2000 -- The Los Angeles County Bar Association today announced its 2000 Judicial Election Evaluations Committee report. 

The report contains the evaluation of the 27 candidates running in the nine contested Los Angeles County judicial races. The candidates are rated either "well qualified," "qualified," or "not qualified." 

Candidates in each race are listed in alphabetical order. 

SUPERIOR COURT OFFICE NO. 31
Douglas Carnahan	Well Qualified
Katherine Mader	Well Qualified
Jeffrey Marckese	Well qualified

ALHAMBRA MUNICIPAL COURT
Llewellyn Chin	Qualified
John Martinez	Well Qualified
Maria Vargas-Rodriguez	Qualified
ANTELOPE MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 1
David Bianchi	Qualified
Christopher Estes	Qualified
ANTELOPE MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 2
William Clark	Qualified
Larry Layton	Qualified
Pamela Rogers	Qualified
BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 2
Hugh Bobys	Well Qualified
Mitchell Dawson	Well Qualified
John Khoury	Not Qualified
Richard Stone	Well Qualified
DOWNEY MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 4
Kirt Hopson	Not Qualified
Jesse Rodriguez	Qualified
INGLEWOOD MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 1
Deborah Christian	Well Qualified
Patricia Titus	Qualified
LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 1
John Ladner	Well Qualified
David Mintz	Well Qualified
Vicki Roberts	Not Qualified
Ronald Silverton	Not Qualified
John Slawson	Well Qualified
David Stuart	Qualified
LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL COURT, OFFICE NO. 44
Bernita "Susan" Borges	Not Qualified
Richard Rico	Well Qualified

Because there is often little information publicly available about judicial candidates, the County Bar considers this report to be one of its most important public services.

The evaluations are the opinion only of the committee, whose 43 members represent a cross-section of the legal community by gender and ethnicity, including lawyers from the public and private sectors, corporate counsel, sole practitioners and members of small, medium and large firms. The committee members also represent a broad geographic spectrum of cities and towns throughout the county.

The County Bar and the committee neither endorse nor oppose the election of specific candidates. The evaluations are not intended to be comparisons of one candidate against another, nor do they necessarily reflect the ability of the candidates to practice law. The committee firmly emphasizes that it limits its evaluations to the candidates' present qualifications for the judicial offices they seek.

Since 1976, the County Bar has been issuing its judicial evaluation report to encourage a better informed electorate. Voters may view the full report from the County Bar's web page at http://www.lacba.org/judicial

The Los Angeles County Bar Association is the largest local voluntary bar association in the nation with a membership of more than 23,000 attorneys. The County Bar is extensively engaged in advancing the administration of justice, promoting its public service projects, and furthering the education of its members.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For report, call 213/833-6700 and request #819. LACBA press releases are available at http://www.lacba.org/pr/