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OCBA EVALUATES CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR JUDICIAL OFFICE IN JUNE 3rd ELECTION

May 27, 2008 - The mission of the Orange County Bar Association is to enhance the system of justice, to support the lawyers who serve it and to assist the community served by it. As a public service to assist the voters in Orange County, the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) has conducted a review of the candidates who are vying for the open judgeships in the judicial election. The OCBA does not endorse any candidates for election.

The review of candidates was conducted by the 29 member Judiciary Committee of the OCBA. The process included a review of the responses to a detailed questionnaire completed by the candidates, interviews of judges, attorneys and others familiar with the candidate and a personal interview of the candidate. The process was the same for all candidates, with the exception of four candidates who declined to participate. Based upon the reviews, investigations and interviews, the OCBA then rated each participating candidate in one of three categories: "Highly Qualified," "Qualified," or "Not Recommended."

The OCBA has no information on the following candidates, who declined to participate in the evaluation process: Michael J. “Mike” Bartlett, Barry Collins, Kermit Marsh and Timothy Sy Nguyen. Accordingly, the Association has no official evaluation of these candidates.

The ratings of the candidates by the OCBA are set forth below.