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Monterey County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
Smart Voter Full Biography for Jonathan Siegel

Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; County of Monterey; Seat 2

This information is provided by the candidate

I have practiced law in Monterey County for the past 34 years. I was a Public Defender for 29 years and have been in private practice in Salinas and Carmel for 5 years. I have represented clients in every area of the criminal law and am well versed in the workings of the courts of this county.

I have appeared in the California Court of Appeal on a number of occassions. I was the successful attorney in a published Court of Appeal decision mandating a detention hearing for anyone charged with a crime in juvenile court.

I am the only candidate for judge who has actual experience sitting as a judge in our courts. In 2005 there was a problem in the traffic court and the presiding judge called upon me and two others to help him fill in the void left by the resignation of the traffic court commissioner. I gladly donned the black robe and presided over the court. At the end of my tenure I was praised by the then presiding judge of the Superior Court and by the present presiding judge for my demeanor on the bench, my ability to work with the court staff, and my ability to make reasonable and fair decisions in cases before me.

When my sons were younger I was on the board of directors of the Carmel Valley Little League and coached many teams in that league and in the Carmel Pony League. I have been on the "chain gang" at Carmel High School football games. I have been a volunteer for Friends of Carmel Unified Schools (FOCUS) in helping raise money for our schools. I have also been a volunteer with the Carmel Tomato Fest. I am a Masters level official with the USATF and have judged track and field competitions at the high school level, college level divisions I & II and community college level, as well as NCAA championships and USATF championships.

I have been married to Susan for 34 years. Susan retired from the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District where she had been a teacher and Certified Librarian. She now works as a substitute librarian at Monterey Public Library and for the Monterey County Free Libraries. We have two sons. Our older son is a firefighter with the US Forest Service. He is a Hot Shot based in Santa Barbara and spent the majority of his time this spring, summer and fall in Monterey County fighting the Indians fire, the Gallery fire, the Basin fire and the Chalk fire. Our younger son is a senior at CSU Chico and is a volunteer firefighter with the City of Chico Fire Department.

My family is a family dedicated to public service and we are proud of it.

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 30, 2008 13:05
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