Here Come Da Judge
Here's some good news, for a change.Some people cast votes for or against candidates based on nothing more than the candidates' names. As a result, voters recently denied a seat on the bench -- a judgeship -- to one of the top five jurists I, for one, have encountered in 21 years' of practice. Specifically, voters decline to promote Dzintra Janavs to the bench from her position as a Court Commissioner. [CORRECTION: She is already a judge. I wrote the foregoing based on her having been a Commissioner the last time I appeared before her, which was the Scopes Monkey Trial, before the change of venue.]
Janavs, who immigrated here from Latvia, is not only brilliant, but has a knack for cutting through BS and resolving matters efficiently and in accordance with the law. But because she has a "funny" name, voters instead elected a lawyer with little experience who has spent most of her time running a bagel store.
Here comes the good part: the Governor is appointing Janavs to the bench anyway. So even though voters didn't get it, lawyers did, and they made sure the Governor got the message.
Hey, the other candidate may do fine. But it would have been a shame if we lost Janavs, especially for such a ridiculous reason.
And, so you know I'm not posting this for ulterior reasons, I have no case before Janavs, and, indeed, no longer handle litigation at all. My respect for her is genuine, and is shared by much of the Bar, as evidenced by the Governor's action.
Finally, for those of you who don't get the picture or the title, it's a Sammy Davis, Jr. / Pontiac / 1960's-70's thing.
Posted by Walter Moore @ 6/10/2006 04:17:00 PM
28 Comments:
Hey everybody, Wacko is a fucking racist cunt. Check out the Kid Shot Playing Grand Theft Auto? Blame The Cops thread and see for yourselves.
I'm offended that our governor believes that some of us would vote or not vote based on a name.
This is the judge who gave us Sunshine Canyon Landfill and the North West Valley overwhelmingly voted against her.
It had nothing to do with her name. It had to do with our ability to not vote for her when she ran again.
We didn't care who ran against her. We would have voted for Walter Moore.
Dzintra Janavs is not brilliant and since Walter claims she is, we know for a fact that she couldn't be.
Anon at 7:09: You are brilliant.
P.S. And was she reversed on appeal? I didn't think so.
I know I am Walt. You aren't. I know that too.
Dear 7:09 - your ignorance is profound. Although you come in a distant second from 5:07, who can only be described as a refugee from solitary confinement at Patton State.
Simply put, Judge Janavs did not pay to put her name on every political mailer available. She lost. There were no "issues" in the campaign. This was not poor Judge Gittleson way back when who made an unpopular decision and paid the price even though he was not reversed on appeal.
Judge Janavs is a hard working well respected judge. She and Judge Yaffe have the hardest jobs in the Superior Court, writs and receivers. I have appeared before both on a regular basis and they make decisions based upon the record before them. They give it their best shot and as one who has appealed their adverse decisions, I never left their courtrooms with the feeling that I was treated unfairly or appeared before a judge who was winging it on the law. They damn well could be wrong on the law. Above them is the courthouse cafeteria and the Court of Appeal, and you can take your choice. There have been times when I chose the cafeteria.
As for the the non-attorney who defeated her, what can be said? Not much. She is best know, according to the papers, for her ginger snaps. Hasn't practiced law for a decade and since she has been an inactive member of the bar for that time, she has not had to take continuing education classes. A truly ignorant South Bay twit who is neither the intellectual match for Judge Janavs, nor sufficiently knowledable or seasoned to sit as a jurist in doggy court.
Finally, as much as this pains me, Mr. Moore seems to be on the right side on this issue.
If I have experience with a judge on an issue and therefore, do not like her for whatever my personal reasons are and choose to vote for the opposite person as a vote against this judge...
That makes me a voter with an opinion. It doesn't make me profoundly ignorant.
And this certainly has nothing to do with her name. That makes me more educated than the average voter.
And one who dreams of being as brilliant as Walter..
CORRECTION: She is already a judge. I wrote the foregoing based on her having been a Commissioner the last time I appeared before her, which was the Scopes Monkey Trial, before the change of venue.
Keep your eye on this Judge; she'd make a good Supreme Court Justice some day. Heck, she'd make a great one today!
Anon 7:09
I am offended you would agree to have an incompetent sit on the bench. Being vetted, which Olson was not, is the best way to find out if a judicial prospect is competent enough in the law and has the experience to hear and decide cases. It was racist decision to run against this particular judge and I for one would never want a racist on the bench. Her story of saying out of 140 judges on the bench, she was republican and that's why she ran against her was a lie. She was not the only republican, and there were races with open seats. Why didn't she run in those races? Because she knew she would lose because she didn't have the credentials to be a real contender and would lose. Furthermore, many judges register as independents because these are nonpartisan races and try their best to check their feelings at the door and simply judge cases by the law. So I guess Olson wants us to believe she was voted in because she is a democrat and she will be deciding cases on her political affiliation? Governors appoint judges from all sides. Olson knew she was unqualified for any Governor to appoint her. It was a racist move on her part and now we have a racist judge. And if you believe her story I have a bridge I want to sell you...
Fortunately this is a large county with plenty of assignments for Judge Olson where she can only cause minimal damage.
Look for her to be permantly trying traffic tickets or small claikms actions, or maybe a turn in Lancaster or Pomono to make her wish for the good old days of the bagel store.
The Judges kow how to make their unhappiness known.
Good luck, JUDGE OLSON.
Walter, may I ask who appointed Janavs as a Commissioner? Does that mean she was an appointed judge and never an elected one before this race when someone ran against her?
I thought those who posted on the blog were pretty savvy. But I see there are some beginners.
Some judges are first seated on the bench as commissioners. Commissioners are voted in by judges in the county they serve. Some commissioners go on to become judges either through gubernatorial appointment or by running for an open seat. I would like to point out not everyone is suited to be a judge even though it might be a goal in their professional career. So many practicing attorneys volunteer their time in the courts Temporary Judge Program hearing small claim, traffic, and etc. Some move up from there, many do not. No trial lawyer wants to go to court with an incompetent judge hearing their case. Olson is someone who has limited experience with the law and lacks experience with the courts and her rules. Just like you wouldn't want an surgeon operating on you without experience, you wouldn't want her hearing your case.
A person who has decided not to keep up with their continuing education in law, dropped their membership or went inactive in the state bar and hasn't practiced for a decade is not a judge who will be respected and everything they do will be questioned and appealed by the lawyers going in front of them. Which is not helping our justice system to move faster, but putting an extra clog in the wheel...all at the public's expense.
It was narcissistic of Olson to think she could do a better job than Janavs on the bench. And to say the reason she chose to run against Janavs was that she was a republican is a lie. The truth is Olson comes onto the bench as someone who targeted a sitting judge with a foreign sounding name. She is a racist. It had nothing to do with the law.
Thank you Mayor Sam for letting the truth come out about this particular race. Janavs experience is decades, while Olson's was longer making bagels than her tenure as a practicing attorney...Maybe her assignment will be "Bagel Court". No matter where she is it will be a joke.
Although I voted for Janavs and think she is superbly qualified, she didn't do what all those on the ballot need to do and that is campaign. In the case of judges, it is to buy slots on mailers, which she clearly thought that she could bypass. Unfortunate decision.
Most judges don't emphasis their political affiliation because it's checked at the door before they enter the court house. They strickly follow the law.
Olson ran on the fact of her political affiliation. So let's really clear this up once and for all so everyone understands "Olson is a democrap".
Excuse me, buy slots on mailers made the bagel lady win a position her own colleagues deemed her unqualified. And she didn't go to the interview because she knew herself she was not qualified.
Screw the political consultants and the polling just buy the flipping mailers...Watch out Hillary you're out foxed, I am running for President and I'm buying every mailer-
Oh 3:15 -
You are so condescending. The question the poster asked was who appointed Janavs as the Commissioner. A simple answer of "Other judges", would have sufficed. Not knowing that doesn't make the average citizen stupid.
You are all crazy to be using the silly race story in this case. You're a bunch of Republicans who are starting to get the whole backlash of the Bush administration's incompetence. "Democraps" will be making decisions based on party more than ever before and it will trickle right on down to the most local race.
A Judge's term in office is six years. If you were appointed it depends when in the term of that seat the election will be. If a judge retires in the third year of the six year term, the governor appoints a new judge, that judge's term is up for re-election in three years.
The posters are not condesending, just aggravated when they see incompetent persons elected to any office. As far as I am personally concerned I don't care what party they're in, I cross vote all the time. And I did not vote for Bush.
In this case race was the issue because many republican judge seats were up for re-election with american sounding names.
Manhattan Beach to Lancaster, how many miles is that anyway?
Start: Manhattan Beach, California, United States
End: Lancaster, California, United States
Total Distance: 80.8 Miles
Estimated Total Time: 1 hour, 16 minutes, no traffic
Directions Miles
Start: Depart Manhattan Beach, California, United States on Highland Ave (North) < 0.1
1: Turn RIGHT (East) onto 15th St 0.1
2: Bear LEFT (North) onto N Ardmore Ave 1.1
3: Road name changes to 33rd St 0.1
4: Turn LEFT (North) onto SR-1 [N Sepulveda Blvd] 0.2
5: Turn RIGHT (East) onto (W) Rosecrans Ave 1.5
6: Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-405 [San Diego Fwy] towards I-405 / San Diego Fwy North 30.1
7: Take Ramp onto I-5 [Golden State Fwy] 3.1
8: Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto SR-14 [Antelope Valley Fwy] towards CA-14 / Palmdale / Lancaster 35.5
9: Road name changes to SR-138 [SR-14] 6.4
10: Turn RIGHT onto Ramp towards Avenue K 0.2
11: Keep STRAIGHT onto 15th St W 1.5
12: Turn RIGHT (East) onto W Lancaster Blvd 0.7
13: Turn LEFT (North) onto Fern Ave 0.1
End: Arrive Lancaster, California, United States
OUCH
To Anon at 3:23:
I like your idea of a "Bagel Court." Next Thursday, I'm taking the exam administered by the mall to practice in the Food Court.
non 7:09
The City of Los Angeles and the LA County gave us Sunshine Canyon Landfill. Get real, you just can't throw anybody under the bus. Put the blame where it belongs. The judge had nothing to do with the planning of the landfill. Blame the lawyers you hired to stop it. Or better yet, blame the council-members and supervisors who received campaign donations and voted for it to be there...you dumb ass.
Hey, the people voted for Tony Villar. That's just how it goes.
Pass the cream cheese please.
It was a "schmeer" campaign.
“Bagel Shop” Owner ousts sitting Superior Court Judge,
I was going to leave this one alone as I have many “causes” on my political plate, but to no avail. I guess I heard it just one too many times that a Lynn Diane Olson, the winner for the Superior Court Seat was just a “bagel shop” owner.
Thank God! This is California, one of the most unfriendly, over regulated and over taxed States for small business. For Lynn to have a successful business is far ahead of someone who is good at taking tests.
What is the qualification to be a Superior court Judge? Just because you do not get the nod from the politically connected good old boys and girls in the black robe club does not make you “not qualified”, it makes you not connected!
If you have not owned a small business than you are suffering from the illusion it is all fun and games.
First of all you put your money and or credit or both on the line. If you fail, you lose. You have employees who depend on you for money to support their families and pay their bills. If business is slow, they still need to get paid.
The City, State and Feds are there with their hands in the till.
Inspectors around every corner. Lawsuits and frivolous claims can and do occur at the drop of a hat.
So the next time someone says they are “just a bagel shop” owner you can ask; How many successful business do you own?
David Hernandez
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