Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; County of San Diego; Office 34

Garland Peed is a veteran prosecutor in the San Diego County District Attorney's Office with 27 years of experience solving and prosecuting our community's most horrific crimes including murder, sexual assault, and gang crimes in San Diego's Superior Court. He has held several key leadership positions in the fight for public safety and victims' rights. Garland is seeking to utilize his extensive criminal justice experience to further serve our community as a Superior Court Judge.

Garland Peed received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Juris Doctor Law degree from the University of San Diego Law School in 1981. Garland was appointed as a Deputy District Attorney in 1984. Garland has held posts as Chief or Assistant Chief of the Gang Division, the North County Branch and the Superior Court Division.

Garland currently serves as the Chief of the San Diego District Attorney's Superior Court Division, the organization's central felony prosecution unit where he leads and manages a large group of felony trial prosecutors, investigators, paralegals and support staff. As the Chief prosecutor for the Superior Court, Garland is called upon to make critical decisions regarding serious felony cases including the proper criminal charges, punishment and the rights of the victims in those cases.

In 2003, Garland Peed was tapped by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to serve in the newly formed Unit in the District Attorney's Office- The Cold Case Homicide Team. Garland took on that assignment with the fervor of finding justice for victims of homicide and their families. One of the first cold cases that Garland opened was the heartbreaking case of Laura Arroyo, a 9 year old girl who was kidnapped from her home, sexually assaulted and murdered. After going unsolved for 12 years, Garland directed the investigation that identified the killer, took the case to trial and obtained a conviction and the death penalty for Laura's murderer. Garland Peed was selected as the recipient of the award for "Outstanding Achievement" for bringing justice for Laura and her family and for his tireless hard work and dedication over his years of service.

Garland Peed developed an expertise in the difficult area of gang prosecution. Garland first served in the Gang Unit as a trial prosecutor and later rose to the position of Chief of the Gang Prosecution Unit. Garland's 17 year battle against street gangs is well known within the criminal justice community. During the peak of gang violence, he and his team deployed the now-famous Red Rag-Blue Rag strategy, which directly challenged the hold of the deadly gangs known as the Bloods and Crips on many San Diego neighborhoods. Garland helped take hundreds of gangsters off the street, making neighborhoods much safer. He won numerous awards for his gang work and has been recognized by both his peers in the DA's Office and the San Diego Police Officer's Association for his ground breaking work.

Before joining the District Attorneys Office, Garland worked as an Indigent Defense Attorney representing defendants charged with misdemeanors and felonies in San Diego Central Municipal and Superior Courts.

On a personal note, Garland has been married to Carol for 19 years, and they have 5 children. Garland regularly coaches his daughter's softball team and manages his son's Pop Warner team. He was a member of the YMCA father/daughter organization called "Indian Princess" sponsored by the Ecke YMCA from 1999 to 2005. Garland and his family helped establish a yearly Holiday celebration at Providence Place, a facility that houses approximately 60 women for a mandatory one year residential treatment program as a transition step from prison to the community. The goal of the program is to reunite the women with their children who had been placed in foster care or with relatives. Garland dresses in costumes at this yearly charity event and provides Christmas gifts to the innocent children affected by the imprisonment of their mothers.