Candidate for
Judge-Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 144

The depth of my experience, the variety of cases and assignments, and my experience as a teacher, set me apart from the other candidates. I have displayed the necessary character and intellect for the position of Superior Court Judge. As a criminal prosecutor, for over twenty years, I have made critical decisions in an even-handed and unbiased manner. I have dedicated my career to making our streets safe from violent gang members, our environment free from illegal hazardous wastes, work places free from employer's who needlessly endanger their employees and to insuring that prosecutors and police officers are properly trained. During my career I have handled hundreds of criminal cases, from misdemeanors to special circumstance homicides. I have also been involved in more non-traditional types of prosecutions while in the Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division. In each of my assignments I have been recognized for a willingness to handle difficult cases, and develop legal expertise. I have handled almost every type of hearing that commonly occurs during the course of a criminal prosecution. I have conducted fifty felony jury trials, thirty-two of which involved homicide prosecutions and several have been high profile cases.

I grew up in a racially diverse middle class neighborhood in Dayton Ohio. After graduating high school in January of 1975, I attended a local university (Wright State University), for one semester. I then took six months off, and hitchhiked throughout the United States. This exposed me to many different aspects of our society, and allowed me to gain a greater perspective beyond those available where I grew up. I resumed my college education at Indiana University in Bloomington, where I graduated with a B.A. in psychology in January of 1979.

After college I spent three and a half years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During that time I was deciding on a career options. One of my jobs was as manager of a "blue collar" bar. The owner of a bar I managed, who was an attorney, suggested that I should consider law school because practicing law would provide a concrete way to have a positive effect on society. I followed his advice and found his suggestion to be true.

I graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in May 1985. While at Hastings, I was a member the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, and in my third year I was a Note and Comment Editor.

I started at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office as a senior law clerk in August 1985, and became a deputy district attorney in December of that same year, after having passed the July bar exam. I am presently a Grade IV Deputy District Attorney. I have tried fifty felony jury trials, thirty-two of which have been homicides.

I am presently assigned to the Training Division (from October 2000 to present). My responsibilities include training deputy district attorneys with various experience levels, in several areas in which I specialize. As such, I am responsible for keeping current in the law. I teach at our New Hires Class, New Prosecutor College, Midlevel College, Law Clerk Training, Filing Deputy College, and at various Target Crime Seminars. The areas I am primarily responsible for include Felony Sentencing, Courtroom Presentations, Search & Seizure, Discovery and Theories of Criminal Liability. I also provide instruction to other prosecutorial agencies on search and seizure issues.

In addition to the D.A. training, my other primary responsibility is to provide and coordinate the legal training my unit conducts for numerous law enforcement agencies. I provide instruction on Criminal Procedure, Case Preparation & Filing, Theories of Criminal Liability, Law of Homicide, Courtroom Testimony, Current Case Law, and the Fourth Amendment. I also regularly teach for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

From 1988 through 1996, my trial skills were recognized and I was assigned to the Hardcore Gang Division. During that assignment, I prosecuted well over one hundred and fifty homicides. While in that assignment, I obtained the first felony conviction under the Street Terrorism Enforcement Program, which increased the punishment for certain gang related crimes. Many of the cases I prosecuted were high profile cases.

After my assignment to the Hardcore Gang Division, I was asked to join Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division to enhance the trial strength of that unit. I was assigned there for four years (1996 +2000). My primary focus was Cal/OSHA workplace fatality investigations. I was co-counsel on People v. Morton International, et.al the first criminal workplace fatality prosecution in Los Angeles in several years. I was also responsible for conducting the criminal investigation into numerous workplace fatalities, including several that occurred during the construction of the Metro Red Line. During that assignment I helped develop a new protocol for Cal/OSHA to use in workplace fatality investigations, not only for Los Angeles, but all of California. I coordinated the first statewide training in ten years between Cal/OSHA and prosecutorial agencies and worked on the passage of AB1127, which significantly strengthened the criminal penalties for workplace safety violations. This legislation put California in the forefront of enacting legislation to protect employees in the workplace. A recent article in the New York Times (California Leads Prosecution of Employers in Job Deaths, 12/23/03) discusses the impact of this legislation, and called it a model for other states to follow.

The following is a more detailed account of numerous accomplishments in my career:

Misdemeanor Trial Deputy-Glendale Area Office: 12/85-3/86 Preliminary Hearing Deputy- Van Nuys Branch: 4/86-11/86 Felony Trial Deputy-Van Nuys Branch: 11/86 + 3/88 Hardcore Gang Division-San Fernando Branch: 4/88 + 8/91 Hardcore Gang Division-Santa Monica Branch: 9/91 + 12/94 Hardcore Gang Division-CCB: 1/95 + 8/96 Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division: 9/96 - 9/2000 Training Division: 10/2000 + present

I have handled numerous noteworthy cases during my career. People v. Ronald Lorigo A815721, was one of the first successful murder prosecutions that arose from a driving under the influence charge in the San Fernando Valley.

In People v. Adam Espinoza, the defendant was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, who he shot, in front of more than a dozen co-workers at Valley Medical Center.

In People v. Joaquin Garcia A708500, the defendant was convicted of the murder of a ten-year-old boy, who was shot in the head by a stray bullet, while playing at a park in Pacomia.

In People v. Ambrosio Villagrana A818595, the defendant was convicted of murder. Shortly before this incident, the defendant had been released from custody for the killing of this decedent's brother.

In People v. Manuel Madrigal PA000638, the defendant was not only convicted of the murder, but also the first person convicted in Los Angeles of an enhancement (Penal Code § 186.22(b)) for committing a crime for the benefit of his gang.

In People v. Mario Hernandez, Lorenzo Martinez and David Carmona PA002319, the defendants convicted of the murder of Sonny Rodriguez, the son of William "Blinky" Rodriguez, a national champion kick boxer. Mr. Rodriguez became very involved in gang intervention work and he is now executive director of Community in Schools of the San Fernando Valley.

In People v. Miguel Quinteros SA010798, the defendant was convicted of the murder of Jason Escobedo at Will Rogers State Beach. The incident occurred after the defendant and a friend of the decedent got into a minor altercation. The defendant returned with several members of his gang and attacked the decedent and his friends, beating Mr. Escobedo to death. Twice courts had previously dismissed this case because, it was not possible to establish who inflicted the fatal wounds. I overcame these evidentiary problems by establishing the defendant's responsibility under the legal theory of conspiracy. There is a published opinion supporting my position in People v. Superior Court(Quinteros) (1993) 13 C.A. 3d 990.

In People v. Morton International, Inc,et.al. BA108975. This case involved the prosecution arising from the death of an employee of Morton Salt Company, which occurred during a silo cleaning operation. This was the first criminal prosecution of an employer for a workplace safety violation that caused the death of an employee in Los Angeles in several years.

The most significant case of my career was People v. Calvin Broadus and McKinley Lee BA086649, Calvin Broadus, aka, Snoop Dogg and McKinley Lee where prosecuted for the murder of Philip Woldemarian. The defendants were charged after defendant Lee shot and killed the decedent from a car that defendant Broadus was driving. Defendant Lee was employed as defendant Broadus' bodyguard. The defendants were found not guilty of murder, and the jury hung on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. This was a hard fought case, however, no one ever questioned the priority of the prosecution.

In addition to prosecuting cases, while I was assigned to the Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division I took a leadership role in improving the quality of workplace fatality investigations. During that assignment I helped develop a new protocol for Cal/OSHA to use in workplace fatality investigations, for both the Los Angeles area and statewide. I coordinated the first statewide training in ten years between Cal/OSHA and prosecutorial agencies. I also worked on the passage of AB1127, which significantly strengthen the criminal penalties for workplace safety violations.