Judge Karlin’s Reelection

In light of Judge Karlin’s reelection, efforts to recall her should stop.

The majority of voters who have elected Judge Karlin to a six-year term of office can only harbor resentment toward those who want to see tax dollars spent on a special election to undo the results of June 2. Such resentment means that important issues about the quality of the criminal justice system, raised by Judge Karlin’s critics, will be ignored.

The memory of Latasha Harlins is better served, not by the removal of a duly elected judge, but by fighting for increased representation of minority lawyers in judicial appointments so that the bench truly reflects the community, for reform in how judges are trained and assigned cases for trial, for fundamental changes in how everyone in society perceives and gets along with one another so that never again does a trivial quarrel over orange juice escalate into an assault and a fatal shooting.

GERALD M. SATO

Ventura

The writer is an attorney.