Elect Myanna Dellinger to push Los Angeles County in the right direction.

About the Position

Judges of the California Superior Courts are elected in nonpartisan, county-wide elections to six-year terms. Once voted in, a judge can run for retention at the expiration of their term. A retention election is a process by which voters decide whether an incumbent judge should remain for another term. If the judge, when not facing an opponent, does not obtain a certain percentage of voters (often 50 percent), they are removed from the position. Many judges join the court through a gubernatorial appointment. Once a judge is appointed, they compete in the next general election following the appointment.

California has 58 trial courts, or superior courts, one in each county. In the more than 450 courthouses of the superior courts, a judge and sometimes a jury hears witness testimony and other evidence. These courts hear civil, criminal, family, probate, and juvenile cases. The judge decides cases through the application of relevant law to the relevant facts.

About the Jurisdiction

The Superior Court of Los Angeles comprises the appellate, civil, criminal, family law, juvenile, mental health, probate, small claims, and traffic courts. The court system sees 2.7 million new cases per year. As of 2016, Los Angeles County’s incarceration rate was 609 per 100,000 adults aged 18–69, higher than California’s overall 486 per 100,000 average.

About the Race

In the March 3 primary election, Myanna Dellinger trailed challenger Steve Morgan by a margin of 3 percent. Dellinger’s campaign has raised $104,439.91 and is 55 percent self-funded, with the rest coming from individuals. Dellinger’s campaign has pledged to avoid fossil fuel money, and records show no donations from fossil fuels, police unions, or corporate PACs. Morgan’s campaign has raised $96,919.29, is 26 percent self-funded, and has received contributions from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, SEIU 721, and Govern For California (GFC). Morgan’s campaign has not committed to any campaign finance pledges.

About the Candidate

Myanna Dellinger is from Denmark, graduated at the top of her law school class, and moved to Southern California in 1997. Dellinger lives in Eagle Rock with her husband and is currently a law professor teaching human rights, contracts, sales, and public international law. According to campaign materials, she is running for re-election to help reduce racial disparity in the criminal-justice system and to provide greater access to justice.

Dellinger has worked on thousands of cases with state and federal judges at the trial and appellate levels, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Dellinger also researches and writes extensively on the intersection between climate change and business law. She has personally translated and interpreted in such projects as multimillion-dollar patent-infringement lawsuits and Holocaust-survivor class-action lawsuits against Swiss banks. Her research has contributed to contemporary understanding about endangered species law and policy, and in particular the potential effects of trophy hunting to threatened and endangered species.

Myanna Dellinger is endorsed by many local progressive groups in the district. Her opponent, Steve Morgan, is endorsed by more moderate groups. According to our analysis, Myanna Dellinger is the strongest choice for equitable and representative leadership in office.