Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; County of Orange; Office 50

I was born in Los Angeles, my father a Pearl Harbor Survivor and navy pilot, my mother a homemaker. I attended public schools in Glendale and obtained my bachelors degree in economics from UCLA in 1971.

In late 1974, after graduating from UCLA Law School and passing the bar exam, my bride-to-be, Judy, and I decided to begin our married life in Orange County where we had first met while in elementary school. I interviewed with the District Attorney's office and found out I had the job while on our honeymoon. February 3, 1975, I took an oath and became a Deputy District Attorney. The following afternoon I was selecting a jury in the Westminster courthouse. Two years later I had tried 50 jury trials and was hiring and training new deputies in trial skills and ethics.

My career as a prosecutor did much to form me as a lawyer and judicial officer. The pursuit of justice is a prosecutor's only goal, and that, I learned, means "justice" in its broadest sense. The Orange County law enforcement community, from the cops on the street through the victims' advocates, probation officers and the courts all have discretion in how they deal with a given situation, and it is the quality of those professionals that determines the quality of justice in our community. I believe that there is no finer group in America.

In my career I have conducted more than 200 jury trials of all types. I prosecuted rapists, gang members, homicides and environmental polluters. In federal court I have prosecuted civil rights cases, and I have argued appeals in the state and federal appellate courts. In some of the most serious of those cases, including capital murder, I was appointed by the Superior Court to represent indigent defendants. I am proud to be endorsed by the lawyers and investigators who prosecuted those defendants because of my high ethical and professional standards. I have appeared in courts from New York to Hawaii as well as the United States Supreme Court where I have been licensed to practice since 1991.

Beginning in 1980, I have been honored to serve the Superior Court as a Juvenile Court Referee. In that capacity I hear cases involving neglected and abused children, adoptions and juvenile crimes. I also mentor new judges concerning the procedures unique to the juvenile court. My rulings protecting the rights of child molestation victims and cracking down on criminal street gangs have been upheld by the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.

Judy and I are proud to have raised three successful children and still live in San Clemente where we have made our home for the last 35 years. We are expecting our first two grandchildren in June and July.

Prosecutors, police officers, probation officers, CASA volunteers and other victim's rights advocates, judges, elected officials, firefighters, and Coach John Wooden endorse my candidacy.