Judgeship Recommendations

Judicial elections traditionally attract less notice than races for most other seats, and this year’s Orange County contests have proved no different.

The codes of ethics binding lawyers and judges generally preclude mud-slinging campaigns, and voters should be thankful for that. The high cost of a ballot statement, $12,000 in a Superior Court race, usually leaves little if any money to solicit votes by mail. The restrictions mean that incumbent judges seldom are challenged. That is true this year as well: The three contests for Superior Court seats are being waged to fill the seats of judges who are retiring.

Judges need to be especially independent, patient and hard-working in these times when caseloads are growing but the money to create more judgeships is not. Knowledge of the law is an obvious requirement; experience is also important.

In Office 1, the best of the three candidates is Barbara Schumann. She has been a Municipal Court judge since 1979 and narrowly lost an election for Superior Court two years ago. Her extensive experience in civil and criminal law, her teaching background and her stints on the state Judicial Council and state Judges’ Ethics Committee make her eminently qualified for Superior Court, where the cases can be more complicated and more difficult.

In Office 17, we favor Clancy Haynes, who has served successfully as a Juvenile Court referee for more than a decade and has been an effective court commissioner, handling many of the duties of a judge. He has been a deputy public defender and a lawyer in private practice.

One of Haynes’ opponents, Jim Brooks, has much experience, but unfortunately was presiding judge in Central Municipal Court when Judge Claude Whitney was charged with violating the rights of some defendants. The state Commission on Judicial Performance took no action against Brooks, but it did recommend that Whitney be publicly censured by the California Supreme Court.

In Office 22, Municipal Court Judges Carla M. Singer and Richard W. Stanford Jr. are both good candidates. We endorse Stanford because he has been on the bench longer, since 1985, and has experience as presiding judge of the Central Municipal Court. Stanford has handled civil cases as well as criminal, and that experience should help in Superior Court. His thoughtful approach to various issues facing the court makes him a good choice for Superior Court.