Candidate for
Judge of the Superior Court; County of Los Angeles; Office 3

Joe Escalante is a candidate for Judicial Office #3 of the Los Angeles Superior Court. In addition to a private legal practice in Seal Beach, Escalante regularly appears on KFI, KABC, and KTLK radio and the Fox News Channel as a legal analyst. He has spoken at numerous universities, including Harvard Law School on Intellectual Property issues, and recently as an invited guest on Adam Freedman's Constitutional Law Podcast.

Escalante is the host of the syndicated entertainment legal advice radio call-in program "Barely Legal Radio" The show originated on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles in 2005 (the station Rolling Stone called "The best Radio station in America) where Escalante spent two and a half years as the morning drive time host and later branched out to host a nationally syndicated Catholic radio program on EWTN.

Escalante received his B.A. from UCLA (Emphasis on Old Norse), did graduate work at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, and received his J.D. from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles where he specialized in anti-trust litigation. He is published in the field. Upon graduation in 1992, Escalante immediately took a job in the with business affairs for the CBS Television Network as a talent and program negotiator. In 1996, Escalante left CBS to tour full time with his suddenly popular band The Vandals and founded Kung Fu Records.

To fund the label, Escalante opened up a law practice and gradually built a roster of entertainment clients. The Vandals now call Kung Fu Records their home and perform regularly, schedule permitting, around the world including performances in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan for the U.S. troops.

Escalante remains an active member of the California State Bar and serves as a Volunteer Temporary Judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. His experience on the bench has allowed him to expand his practice to include limited criminal defense, probate, estate planning, and landlord tenant cases. Among Escalante's most notable legal achievements was his victorious defense of his band and his corporation in Federal Court against the media giant Reed Elsevier, Inc. in a case based on First Amendment issues.

Although Escalante's personal and business interests are varied, he is probably best known for his years as the indie rock morning host on Indie 1031 FM where he assembled a cast of characters that included avant-garde director David Lynch as the daily weatherman, and heartthrob actor Timothy Olyphant with daily sports.

An American of Mexican and Irish descent, Escalante lives with his wife Sandra in Signal Hill, CA. He is a daily communicant at St. Peter Chanel where he teaches Confirmation Catechism classes. He's an avid stand-up paddle surfer and enjoys the distinction of being one of only a handful of U.S. citizens trained as an amateur bullfighter.