Her name is trending on Google and on Trellis. The Honorable Judge Lynn Olson, Office No. 12, now facing an electoral challenge from a lawyer whom she held in contempt last year for disruptive behavior, according to the Los Angeles Times. That lawyer is public defender Rhonda A. Haymon. Ironically, eighteen years ago, it was Lynn Olson who decided she was the right candidate to unseat a judge. Now, let’s take a closer look at two heated judicial contests in Los Angeles County for this year.
According to her bio, “during her judicial tenure, Judge Lynn Olson has presided over traffic, small claims, civil, and criminal matters and has held an assignment in the magistrate unit. Prior to her election, she was on hiatus from her legal career to help manage the Manhattan Bread and Bagel shop alongside her husband. During that time, she allowed her state bar membership to lapse. Then, in 2006, Lynn Olson decided to challenge a sitting judge of 20 years.
A February 2024 pre-election piece in Reuters recounted how Olson, in stunning fashion, “unseated, veteran Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs who was rated ‘exceptionally well qualified’ by the Los Angeles Bar Association.” Additionally, according to an archived California Bar Journal Article from July 2006, three days after the election, then Gov. Schwarzenegger “announced that he would reappoint the [then] 69-year-old jurist.” The rather lengthy piece still available on the Bar Journal’s site, highlights the fervor around the upset, with then Gov. Schwarzenegger stating: “Judge Janavs has a long and distinguished record as a judge and deserves to continue serving the people of Los Angeles. I can relate to the problem of having a name that is hard to pronounce…” He was “referring to reports that voters may have been put off by Janavs’ foreign-sounding name.” “This unfortunate result should not rob California of a fine jurist,” stated Schwarzenegger, “and I intend to reappoint her to the L.A. Superior Court as soon as she completes the paperwork.” And reappointed she was though she retired in 2008.
Yet Another Ouster?
The Honorable Emily T. Spear is a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California. She was elected to the bench on June 5, 2018. However, on September 6, 2023, the California Commission on Judicial Performance issued a public admonishment against Judge Spear. The commission concluded that she had disregarded and disrespected her judicial obligations by partaking in unauthorized absences, making disparaging remarks, issuing false statements, and manipulating her calendar for personal benefit.” Prior to her election, Judge Spear was a deputy district attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, a position she held since 2007. During her tenure there, she handled sex crimes, domestic violence, and child molestation cases in the Victim Impact Program and held an assignment in the Sex Crimes Division. These are just a few of her accomplishments listed in her bio.
However, in stressing the severity and impact of Judge Spear’s misconduct in their Public Admonishment, the Commission on Judicial Performance cited a previous decision, which stated, “[a] judge’s responsibilities are not limited to the completion of the daily calendar. Judges who conclude their calendars early in the day may be assigned other duties, including presiding over cases other courts are unable to handle due to time limitations or disqualification and handling ex parte motions. Unapproved absences can have a significant impact on the operation of the court ….”
Citing to these issues, in the run-up to the March primaries, The LA Times endorsed Judge Spear’s challenger, Kimberly Repecka, as “capable and well-regarded.” Further emphasizing that “[s]he represented children in dependency court and now works as a deputy public defender.” The LA Times endorsement further states that, “Repecka acknowledges that she is targeting Spear because of the incumbent’s misconduct, and because no one else stepped up to challenge her. But it’s not a grudge match; Repecka has never appeared in Spear’s courtroom.”
Great Lawyers May Know the Judge, But Do the Voters?
It is an often repeated phrase in legal circles. One is likely to encounter it in first year of law school: ‘A Good Lawyer Knows the Law but a Great Lawyer Knows the Judge’. Back in 2006, in their piece titled “Judge’s Loss Stuns Experts” which details Judge Janavs loss to Judge Olson, LA Times reporters highlighted the fact that even “[p]olitical consultants have long complained that judicial races — particularly in a county as large as Los Angeles — are somewhat arbitrary. Few voters have heard of any of the candidates, and yet most vote anyway. The voters’ choice often comes down to the scant information in front of them in the voting booth: the candidates’ names and job descriptions.”
But that was in 2006. Times have changed and with the proliferation of social media and sites like Trellis Law, one can dive deep into the details of a judicial nominee’s or incumbent’s background and qualifications. Moreover, there are now an abundance of online guides and resources covering the offices and inner workings of state judiciaries. However, do voters know what to look for when considering candidates for judicial office?
Indeed, according to an interview with Honorable Judge Stuart Rice on LAist.com, “[t]he number one quality a judge needs is an ability to work with people […] [a]nd you need the ability to stay calm, to listen to all kinds of people, to have what I call a proper judicial demeanor.” The LAist.com article goes on to recommend “checking out endorsements,” stating “[t]hese are nonpartisan seats, but you’ll still see endorsements from newspapers, politicians, and issue-based organizations, just like any political contest. If there’s an organization you trust, their endorsement might tip the scales for you.”
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Sources:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jun-08-me-judge8-story.html
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-06/incumbent-superior-court-endorsements
Judge Bio Pages:
Judge Janavs: https://trellis.law/judge-dashboard/5176/bio
Judge Olson: https://trellis.law/judge-dashboard/713/bio
Judge Spear: https://trellis.law/judge-dashboard/11976/bio
Judge Rice: https://trellis.law/judge-dashboard/697/bio
Music: Disruptor’s Dance by Anka Mason
Blog Narration: Anka Mason
