{"id":8604,"date":"2026-05-21T23:01:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T23:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8604"},"modified":"2026-05-21T23:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T23:01:45","slug":"how-do-you-decide-which-judges-on-the-june-2-ballot-to-vote-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8604","title":{"rendered":"How do you decide which judges on the June 2 ballot to vote for?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Judicial candidates are on the June 2 ballot \u2014 but despite their potential high-stakes roles, they are largely a mystery to most people.<\/p>\n

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How should a voter choose a person whose decisions will have significant consequences?<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally, judges aren\u2019t supposed to be super-public figures, so mostly they aren\u2019t known outside people appearing before them in court,\u201d said Austen L. Parrish, dean of the University of California Irvine School of Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike other elected officials, the judge is not representing voters,\u201d Parrish added. \u201cThe judge is meant to be protecting the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strict ethics rules mean a judicial candidate, in most scenarios, can\u2019t talk about how he or she would rule in a specific case or under particular circumstances.<\/p>\n

But other key information \u2014 a candidate\u2019s general philosophy, how legal organizations view them, the professional background \u2014 are often available for voters willing to dig.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing a little bit of research is useful,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n

Why are we voting for judges?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Governments have long been faced with a dilemma \u2014 how to choose judges whose allegiance is meant to be to the rule of law.<\/p>\n

On the federal level, judges are appointed for life.<\/p>\n

California deploys a hybrid system: Most state-court judges are initially appointed to the bench after a sitting judge chooses to leave in the middle of their term. Those judges are vetted by a state bar commission and appointed by the governor\u2019s office. They still must face re-election, if they want to remain, but the vast majority run un-opposed and therefore don\u2019t show up on ballots.<\/p>\n

However, there are a handful of judicial races most election cycles, with an open seat drawing multiple candidates or someone decides to challenge a sitting judge.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Throughout his nearly 50-year career, Thomas Goethals \u2014 a former prosecutor, defense attorney, Orange County Superior Court judge and appellate court judge \u2014 recalled a constant: A series of calls before every election from his non-legal friends and family members confused about why they were being asked to vote for judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt surprises them every two or four years,\u201d Goethals said. \u201cThe same people call me up and ask me, \u2018What the heck is going on?\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judicial canons \u2014 which every judge is bound by \u2014 limit what a judge can say or do when a judge is running for an initial election or re-election,\u201d Goethals added. \u201cMost judges I know take those canons very seriously, so it is a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where to get info<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most large bar associations \u2014 including those for Orange County and Los Angeles County \u2014 publicly rate candidates before elections, describing them as \u201cexceptionally well qualified,\u201d \u201cwell qualified,\u201d \u201cqualified,\u201d or \u201cnot qualified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those reviews are conducted by experienced, practicing attorneys who have first-hand knowledge of the candidate or have spoken to those who do.<\/p>\n

Newsrooms \u2014 including Southern California News Group publications \u2014 traditionally put together voter\u2019s guides, in which candidates are asked to weigh in on key questions or outline their philosophy or background.<\/p>\n

Judicial candidates usually also provide candidate statements that go out with sample ballots, and often craft their own candidate websites to share their preferred message.<\/p>\n

Voters can also look to endorsements \u2014 from law enforcement officials, attorneys or other judges \u2014 to see who is supporting a particular judicial candidate.<\/p>\n

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And for those who happen to know a local judge or attorney, a quick call for some friendly advice is certainly an option.<\/p>\n

And how should voters evaluate the information they collect?<\/p>\n

Temperament \u2014 particularly the ability to remain fair and even-keeled \u2014 is a key consideration, Parrish said.<\/p>\n

Looking at a candidate\u2019s background can illustrate the breadth and type of experience and knowledge they bring to a judicial role, Parrish noted.<\/p>\n

And voters should look for candidates able to deal fairly with those from a wide variety of backgrounds when those people come before them in court, the law school dean added.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are not looking for someone with a strong ideological approach,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n

\u2018A delicate dance\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Goethals, the now-retired former superior court and appellate court judge, said he always felt awkward at being asked to endorse other judges for re-election and routinely turned those requests down. When seeking or accepting endorsements for parties that may appear before them in court \u2014 including law enforcement agencies and attorneys \u2014 a judge has to keep in mind that there is a very real possibility they will appear before them in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be sensitive and careful about those endorsements,\u201d Goethals said. \u201cYou have to keep your bearings on what your job is going to be if you win. You may have to rule against them. It is a delicate dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judicial races are traditionally on the sedate side. But disputes do enter the public\u2019s consciousness on occasion. And, in an era where threats to judges are on the rise nationwide and attack ads or comments on social media are widespread, judicial campaigns are far from immune.<\/p>\n

\u201c(There is) more of this rough-and-tumble politics we see more broadly seeping into judicial elections,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n

Judicial challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

A high-profile ruling can be enough for a judge to end up in the electoral crosshairs.<\/p>\n

In 2018, then-Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was recalled and removed from the bench by voters following public outrage over what many viewed as a lenient six-month jail sentence for former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.<\/p>\n

Goethals recalled his own experience facing the prospect of a challenge to his judicial seat when, as a superior court judge, a previous Orange County District Attorney\u2019s Office administration \u2014 angered at his rulings in the midst of the Orange County \u201csnitch scandal\u201d \u2014 openly mused about running a challenger and enlisted a potential candidate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided I was going to run for re-election, and I wasn\u2019t going to campaign much,\u201d Goethals said. \u201cI was just going to run on my record and let my record speak for itself. I wasn\u2019t just going to roll over and let them steamroll me.\u201d<\/p>\n

As more information came to light about the misuse of jailhouse informants that had been central to Goethals rulings, the challenge to his seat rapidly lost momentum, and the prospective challenger opted not to run against him.<\/p>\n

Sometimes voters don\u2019t understand the full context of a judge\u2019s decision, Goethals said, and judges are limited as to what they can say about the cases that come before them. There are times a judge realizes that, under the law, they are going to have to make a decision that they know isn\u2019t going to be popular.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, you\u2019ve got to make a tough call,\u201d Goethals said. \u201cNo one said being a judge was going to be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Weighing judicial candidates can be trickier than traditional politicians, but experts say voters can educate themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8604","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":"\nHow do you decide which judges on the June 2 ballot to vote for? - 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=8604\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you decide which judges on the June 2 ballot to vote for? 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