{"id":12373,"date":"2026-06-05T04:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12373"},"modified":"2026-06-05T04:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:02:17","slug":"election-results-2026-heres-how-orange-countys-judicial-races-are-shaping-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12373","title":{"rendered":"Election Results 2026: Here\u2019s how Orange County\u2019s judicial races are shaping up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Only two judicial races were on Orange County voters\u2019 ballots this primary election \u2014 including one open spot.<\/p>\n

Read more Sparks\u2019 Kelsey Plum ready to return against Paige Bueckers and the Wings<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Mestman, a senior deputy district attorney from Huntington Beach, nabbed an early lead over Ann Cho, a senior deputy district attorney from Irvine, for the open office and incumbent Judge Ami S. Sagel appears well-positioned to hold onto her spot, in the unofficial tallies of election results.<\/p>\n

Superior court judges handle all civil cases \u2014 these can include family law, probate and juvenile cases \u2014 and all criminal cases, such as felonies, misdemeanors and infractions, like a traffic ticket. They also handle small claims cases and small claims appeals and appeals of infractions and misdemeanor cases, per the Judicial Branch of California\u2019s guide.<\/p>\n

A candidate can win outright in the June primary if they receive more than 50% of the vote. But if none do that, the top two vote-getters will move on to the November general election.<\/p>\n

Superior court judges serve six-year terms, and they must have either been an attorney admitted to practice in California or have served as a judge of a court of record for at least 10 years in California, according to the Judicial Branch of California\u2019s guide.<\/p>\n

Up for a vote this year were positions as Judge of the Superior Court Office No. 13 and Office No. 41. The Office No. 13 spot had been open since Judge Jeffrey Ferguson vacated the seat. He received a life sentence last year for killing his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike other elected officials, the judge is not representing voters,\u201d Austen L. Parrish, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, said in a previous interview. \u201cThe judge is meant to be protecting the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Office No. 13<\/h4>\n

Mestman currently has more than 53% of the vote, as of Thursday\u2019s update of tallied ballots.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In the Register\u2019s Voter Guide, Mestman said he\u2019s been a prosecutor for more than 24 years and targeted public corruption as a special assistant U.S. attorney. His background also includes public safety advocacy, he said.<\/p>\n

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Mestman said his judicial philosophy is centered on four pillars: fairness and impartiality, respect for the rule of law, competence and hard work, and dignity.<\/p>\n

Cho, meanwhile, said she has more than two decades of experience prosecuting violent criminals, sexual predators and fraudsters. She also pointed to her own experience in the foster care system and as a survivor of abuse as forming her understanding of the impacts of the justice system.<\/p>\n

She said her judicial philosophy is grounded in fairness, impartiality, integrity and respect for the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Office No. 41<\/h4>\n

Sagel had nearly 67% of the vote as of Thursday\u2019s update. Charles E. Pell, a retired federal criminal prosecutor, trailed behind her.<\/p>\n

Before becoming a family law judge, Sagel said in the Register\u2019s Voter Guide that she worked as a civil litigator at a corporate firm, as an assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting federal crimes and as a solo practitioner working on adoptions and terminations of parental rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy judicial philosophy centers around adherence to the law with compassion,\u201d Sagel said. \u201cJudges have the privilege and responsibility of holding the public trust and must never underestimate the importance of their role in the fair administration of the law and in the public\u2019s overall confidence in the judicial system.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Pell, he served in the U.S. Navy and worked in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office. He is also a former public school teacher, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy judicial philosophy is simple: apply the law fairly, treat every person with dignity, and decide each case with an open mind and without fear or favor,\u201d said Pell.<\/p>\n

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Staff writer Sean Emery contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only two judicial races were on Orange County voters’ ballots this election \u2014 including one open spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nElection Results 2026: Here\u2019s how Orange County\u2019s judicial races are shaping up - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12373\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Election Results 2026: Here\u2019s how Orange County\u2019s judicial races are shaping up - 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