BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1335
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1335 (Lieu)
As Introduced February 27, 2009
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 11-0
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|Ayes:|Fong, Adams, Bill |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Berryhill, Coto, Mendoza, | |Calderon, Krekorian, |
| |Saldana, Swanson | |Fuentes, Monning, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Price, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires write-in candidates for the office of
superior court judge to include on their statements of write-in
candidacy a statement that they satisfy the eligibility
requirements for a judge.
EXISTING LAW prohibits a person from becoming a judge of a court
of record unless for 10 years immediately preceding selection,
the person has been a member of the State Bar or served as a
judge of a court of record in the State of California.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, negligible reimbursable costs for local
elections officials to verify that statements of write-in
candidacy meet the bill's requirement.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1335 deals with write-in
candidates for judicial elections. Under present law, the names
of incumbent Superior Court judges running for re-election do
not appear on the ballot unless either a qualified challenger
files to run against them, in which case the name of the judge
and the challenger will appear on the ballot, or unless a
petition is filed pursuant to Elections Code Section 8203.
Under this section, if a petition signed by at least 100 voters
in the appropriate county is filed during the requisite
timeframe, the judge's name will appear on the ballot.
Additionally, write-in candidates may qualify to challenge the
judge by submitting nomination papers, during the period running
AB 1335
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from 57 days prior to the election until 14 days prior.
"The sponsor of AB 1335, the California Judges Association,
believes that the Section 8203 petition procedure has been
abused by groups intent on harassing judges based upon race and
ethnicity. During the 2008 June primary, a known white
supremacist used this procedure to focus on six incumbent judges
in Los Angeles with Spanish surnames. The person spearheading
this effort published a book in 1989 calling for
disenfranchisement and deportation of non-whites, and was
endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan in a 1989 special election race for
Congress in Wyoming. The protagonist and his colleagues
acknowledged that the judges were selected because of their
names.
"The six Latino judges were shocked when they learned that they
were targeted, but under the law they did not know whether they
would actually have write-in campaigns run against them, or by
whom. They were left uncertain as to whether they needed to
raise campaign money, hire consultants, and carry out a
campaign.
"The Judges Association believes that more than 100 signatures
should be required to force the county to include judge's names
on the ballot, particularly in light of the potential for
harassment on improper grounds. The sponsor is currently
evaluating the petition procedure, and is working with the
Judicial Council's Commission on Impartial Justice to evaluate
this and other issues. Recommendations are to be finalized in
the next few months. We anticipate using AB 1335 as a vehicle
for any appropriate Elections Code changes relating to judicial
elections.
"In the meantime, AB 1335 merely proposes a technical and
clarifying change that any write-in candidate for Superior Court
office must file a statement that he or she meets the state
constitutional requirements to serve as a judge. Article VI,
Section 15 provides that a person is ineligible to serve as a
judge unless he or she has been a member of the State Bar for 10
years immediately preceding the election, or has served as a
judge of a court of record in this state."
Analysis Prepared by : Lori Barber / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
AB 1335
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FN: 0000447