Orange County Bar Association

Orange County Bar Association Releases Ratings of Candidates Running for Judicial Office in June 7 Election

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 11, 2022 — As a public service to assist the voters in Orange County, the Orange County Bar Association (“OCBA”) conducts an independent review and evaluation of candidates running for the position of Orange County Superior Court Judge in California elections. This review is conducted by the OCBA’s Judiciary Committee, a group of over 30 attorneys who have been in practice at least 10 years. The Committee evaluates each candidate’s character, temperament, professional aptitude and experience based information provided both by the candidate and the legal community, without regard for political considerations. The Committee assigns each candidate one of four potential ratings: “Exceptionally Well Qualified,” “Well Qualified,” “Qualified,” or “Not Qualified.”

The OCBA’s Judiciary Committee has completed its review of the candidates running for Superior Court Judge in the June 7, 2022 election. The opinions expressed below by the OCBA are provided as a public service only and are not meant to be considered an endorsement of, or support for, any candidate.

OCBA RATINGS OF JUDICIAL CANDIDATES

Candidate	Rating	Election
Alvarez, Claudia C.	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 5
Baytieh, Brahim	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 22
Bell, Michele	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 30
Brown, Ray	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 21
Cha, Jessica	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 28
Claustro, Israel	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 45
Dane, Joe	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 9
Duff, Christopher	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 9
Espinosa, Daniel	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 5
Fascenelli, Fred	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 22
Gibbons, Marc A.	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 11
Hernandez, Alma M.	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 30
Huang, Peggy	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 30
Jones, Kevin Brian	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 45
Kleffman, Craig E.	Not Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 22
La Salle, Kimberly	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 5
Mader, Andrea	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 30
Martin, Thomas E. “Tom”	Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 33
McGreevy, Steve	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 33
Nelson, Shawn	Not Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 11
Rowe, Erin Beltran	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 21
Scarbrough, Eric	Well Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 28
Stauffer, Benjamin	Not Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 30
Wiseman, Brett K.	Not Qualified	Superior Court Office No. 33

About the Orange County Bar Association
About the Orange County Bar Association Established in 1901, the Orange County Bar Association, with over 7,500 members, is one of the largest voluntary bars in California. 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.

Media Contact:
Erick Palacios (949) 440-6700, ext. 123
epalacios@ocbar.org

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