PRESS CONFERENCE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2012 CONTACT: Candace Carroll 619 595 3216 LOCAL RETIRED JUDGES AND CONCERNED ATTORNEYS TO DISCUSS AMADOR-MILLER JUDICIAL RACE ASK VOTERS TO SAY "NO!" TO JUDGES RATED "LACKING QUALIFICATION" BY THE BAR ASSOCIATION SAN DIEGO--A group of retired judges and prominent local attorneys will hold a news conference to discuss the election of judges, the ratings by the Bar Association, and the upcoming election of a new Judge for Office 25 of the San Diego Superior Court. The race between Deputy District Attorney Robert Amador and local attorney Jim Miller has provoked significant controversy in the local legal community because a victory by Miller would be the second judicial office in one year in which a candidate rated "Lacking Qualifications" by the San Diego Bar Association would be elected to the San Diego Superior Court. WHAT: Press Conference with Retired Judges and Local Attorneys to Discuss Judicial Elections WHEN: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 12:00 noon WHERE: Sidewalk in front of San Diego Superior Court, Hall of Justice, 330 West Broadway, San Diego ************See Attached Letter************* OPEN LETTER REGARDING JUDICIAL ELECTIONS We are all members of the San Diego legal community: experienced practitioners, former San Diego County Bar Association presidents, and retired judges. We are not involved in the campaign of any candidate for judicial office. Instead, we are legal professionals who have come together to support qualified judges in elections for judicial office, in 2012 and beyond. Excellent judges are crucial to our justice system. If citizens and lawyers lose confidence in our judges, the system will ultimately break down. The Superior Court handles a wide variety of legal disputes - civil cases, criminal cases, divorces, juvenile proceedings, and so on. It's critical to your rights and the rights of your neighbors that we entrust judicial decision-making power only to judges who are qualified. Generally judges are appointed by the Governor, but occasionally judges are elected. Governors of both parties scrutinize judicial applicants' qualifications carefully, and seek input from bar associations and others, to be sure that every judge appointed has the essential abilities and qualifications to serve as an impartial jurist. When judges have to be elected, the public often has little or no information to help them decide whom to vote for. With dozens of races on the ballot this year, including those for President and Mayor, busy citizens tend to give judicial races little attention, and have little access to reliable information about the candidates. The San Diego Country Bar Association tries to fill this gap, by reviewing the candidates' qualifications, rating them Well Qualified, Qualified, or Lacking Qualifications, and making its ratings public. However, the Bar has limited resources with which to publicize its ratings. We have confidence in the Bar Association's ability to review judicial candidates in a fair, professional and unbiased manner. The Bar Association, like the signers of this letter, includes members of both political parties, men and women, every type of lawyer, and every ethnic group. It includes approximately 10,000 lawyers. In the June primary, a candidate rated "Lacking Qualifications" was elected to the Superior Court. We do not believe that the people of San Diego made this choice knowingly and intentionally. We have therefore decided to publicize this issue, as well as the Bar Association's ratings, so that no more unqualified candidates are elected to our courts. On Nov. 6, there will be only one judicial election on the ballot. Robert Amador and Jim Miller are the candidates. The Bar Association has given Mr. Amador the highest available rating, Well Qualified, while Mr. Miller was given the lowest available rating, Lacking Qualifications. We will be voting for Mr. Amador, and have urged our friends, family and colleagues to do the same. This is not because of politics, but because we care about judges' qualifications. We urge the voters of San Diego County to vote for the only candidate for judge rated qualified by the Bar Association, Bob Amador. We look forward to communicating with you again about this important issue in 2014 and beyond. City and County Officials The Hon. Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney The Hon. Jan Goldsmith, City Attorney Retired Judges The Hon. Vincent DiFiglia The Hon. Kevin Midlam The Hon. James Milliken The Hon. Leo Papas The Hon. James Stiven The Hon. Howard Weiner Past San Diego County Bar Presidents Marc Adelman Jerilyn Malana Monty McIntyre David Noonan Heather Rosing Candace Carroll Attorneys1 Charles Bird, MCKENNA LONG & ALDRIDGE LLP Robert Brewer, JONES DAY Janice Brown, BROWN LAW GROUP Ed Chapin, CHAPIN FITZGERALD LLP Michael Crowley Ken Fitzgerald, CHAPIN FITZGERALD LLP Kirk Hulett Jay Jeffcoat, DLA PIPER US LLP Knut Johnson Lynne Lasry, SANDLER, LASRY, LAUBE, BYER & VALDEZ LLP Jeffrey Lewin, SULLIVAN HILL LEWIN REZ & ENGEL Michael Lipman, DUANE MORRIS LLP Virginia Nelson David Noonan, KIRBY NOONAN LANCE & HOGE LLP Michael Pancer Frederick Schenk, CASEY GERRY SCHENK FRANCAVILLA BLATT & PENFIELD LLP Leonard Simon, ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP Anthony Stiegler, COOLEY LLP 1 Law firms are listed for identification only. CDJHEG couN1fv CBA A Judicial Candidate Ratings Robert Amador Well Qualified James Miller Jr. Lacking Qualifications The San Diego County Bar rates candidates in judicial elections because there is often little information available to the public. The two candidates listed above are running for seat 25 in the Nov. 6 election. Information is collected from the legal community and is used to rate the candidates on the following criteria: - Judicialtemperament - Fairnessand objectivity - Community respect - lntellectandability - Courtesyand patience - Physicaland mentalhealth - Knowledge ofthe law - Humorand perspective - Courage - Trialexperience - Judgmentand common sense - Writing and research skills - Professionalreputation - Compassion and understanding - Anyotherfactorthatmightaffect - Industry and work habits - Integrity and honesty the candidate'sabi|ity - Decisiveness - Administrative ability to serve asajudge For more information on the SDCBA's 2012 Judicial Ratings, visit: