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Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the Judge, Seat 90 — Los Angeles County Superior Court
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
2022 Judicial Elections Candidate Ratings
Discussion of candidates and recommendations for 9 Superior Court seats
Melissa’s family came from Jamaica to the US when she was 11 years old. They settled in a small farming town in Iowa where they were the only black family. The family experienced some racism, but there was far more kindness. And over time, Melissa thrived in her new community. By the time she graduated from high school, she had been elected class president, selected to speak at her high school commencement ceremony, and won a scholarship from the American Legion for a speech she delivered on the separation of church and state.
Those experiences impressed upon Melissa the importance of diversity both in surroundings and experience -- of speaking up when something was unfair and standing in solidarity with those who are being mistreated and may be afraid or unable to speak up for themselves.
Kevin McGurk was born in Butte, Montana in 1977. His mother was born and raised in Los Angeles. She left to attend the Univeristy of Colorado at Boulder. After she graduated, she met Kevin's father, who had returned to the United States after serving in the Vietnam War. He got a job in Montana with the Federal Aviation Adminstration and they moved to Montana together. Ultimately, Kevin's parents divorced and at the age of five, Kevin accompanied his mother to Colorado. Kevin was raised there, and eventually graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Political Science. While attending the University of Colorado, Kevin was an elected representative-at-large to the University Student Government and was on the Executive Board of the University Memorial Center. After graduation, Kevin moved to Bangkok, Thailand to teach English. While teaching at Siam Computer, Kevin's classes spanned from teaching basic English to children to conversational English for Thai professionals. After traveling extensively throughout Southeast Asia, Kevin returned to the United States and enrolled at the Mauer School of Law at Indiana Univeristy-Bloomington. During the summer months, Kevin returned to Los Angeles and was employed as a clerk at a Civil Litigation firm specializing in Aviation called Kern & Wooley. While in Bloomington, Kevin would medal in the Sherman Minton Moot Court Competition and serve as an Articles Editor for the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies.
After graduating in 2004, Kevin would reach his goal of settling full time in Los Angeles. After passing the California Bar Exam, Kevin was hired as a Deputy Public Defender with Los Angeles County. For the last seventeen years, Kevin has spent almost every weekday in a courtroom. For thirteen years, Kevin has been assigned to felony trials. He currently carries an open caseload of approximately fifty felony cases including several homicide cases. Kevin has extensive experience with serious, complex cases, including conducting several murder trials to verdict. He will be prepared to apply this experience if given the opportunity to serve as a Superior Court Judge.
Kevin lives in Long Beach with his wife and two young daughters. He enjoys sports, traveling, and coaching his daughter's T-ball team.
I do not believe that all citizens have adequate access to legal help and the legal system. This problem is much more acute in civil legal matters than in alleged criminal offenses. The most obvious impediment to legal help is the inability financially to retain counsel. When an individual who is indigent is charged with a misdemeanor or felony offense; counsel is automatically assigned. This is not the case for a range of civil matters. Issues related to housing, employment, personal injury and others can have an enormous impact on someone's life. In many cases, someone who has been legally wronged may not even know that recourse is possible. If they do, the cost of finding and retaining adequate representation may seem too daunting. It would be a wise investment to increase access to civil representation for indigent residents and to have attorneys dedicated to this charge placed at or near courthouses countywide.
We can also make the legal system more accessible by expanding remote appearrances for routine matters. Additionally, a streamlined system of filing legal documents that would allow someone to file paperwork at any courthouse as opposed to the courthouse where the case is assigned could minimize inconveinece and lost time at work.
In civil matters, the greatest obstacle to justice is the inaccessibiity of legal representation for individuals of limited financial means. There are residents of Los Angeles County that may have valid claims or defenses yet are unaware of it due to the inability to retain counsel. As a result, unjust outcomes take place that have severe repercussins in areas spanning from housing to custody of children. It is important that Los Angeles County expand access to legal representation in civil matters for indigent people.
In criminal matters; in my view the greatest obstacle to justice would be the continued, widespread reliance on pre-trial detention in open felony matters without any particualrized evidence that the individual is a flight risk or a risk to pubilc safety.
My name is Naser Nas Khoury:
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