Endorsement: For Superior Court, Jacqueline Lewis and Andrew Stein

Los Angeles County voters will see two judicial runoffs on their Nov. 4 ballot, and it’s a shame they can’t just pick the two best candidates of the four. That’s because the two best are running against each other. Deputy Dist. Atty. Dayan Mathai is an accomplished prosecutor with 15 years of experience trying criminal cases, and Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Jacqueline Lewis has already spent 17 years on the bench, 11 of them as a referee — a judicial officer who fills in when the need arises but often serves what amounts to full time in court — and six as a full-time commissioner, doing much of the work of a judge.

Lewis sits in Dependency Court, where judges make decisions about reunifying children with their parents — or terminating parental rights. Few judges volunteer for the assignment because it is particularly demanding and emotionally draining work.

When voters are faced with the choice between two outstanding candidates, how should they decide? They should choose the one whose skills and experience are most needed and most hard to come by. That would be Lewis. It is no knock against Mathai to say that although he is well qualified for the job, he is one of many solid criminal prosecutors ready to take the bench and preside over criminal trials. But Lewis’ qualities and experience are extremely rare, and voters should not pass them up.

The two candidates in the other race are more problematic. Criminal defense lawyer Andrew M. Stein and Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Tom Griego both drew “not qualified” ratings from the Los Angeles County Bar Assn., and in Griego’s case the rating, while harsh, is appropriate. He lacks the experience and the mastery of the courtroom needed in a Superior Court judge.

Stein, on the other hand, has mastered many courtrooms in his more than 30 years representing criminal defendants ranging from gang members to police officers. He has a reputation for being contentious, perhaps as a byproduct of vigorous advocacy that sometimes bends the unwritten rules of courtroom decorum. That’s hardly a fault in a criminal defense lawyer, but how well would it translate to the bench?

In a head-to-head showdown with the unqualified Griego, it’s an easy choice. Stein, as a criminal defense lawyer, would bring some diversity of background to a bench on which prosecutors are well represented. The Times recommends a vote for Jacqueline Lewis for Superior Court Office 61 and Andrew M. Stein for Superior Court Office 87.

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