Monday, August 30, 2004
Page 1
Superior Court Judge James L. Wright Slates Nov. 15 Retirement
By DAVID WATSON, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James L. Wright, who chose not to seek re-election earlier this year, will retire Nov. 15, a court spokesperson said Friday.
Wright, who will be 67 next month, did not file last year to run in the March primary. Superior Court Commissioner Donna Groman and Deputy District Attorney Judith L. Meyer survived a five-way primary battle and will face off in the Nov. 2 general election for the right to replace Wright.
The winner would not take office until Jan. 3, though in the past governors have appointed winners of judicial elections to fill vacancies so that they can get a head start on their duties. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s only two judicial appointments have been of election winners to vacant trial court bench spots in Alpine and Yuba counties.
Wright, a Oklahoma native, attended schools in Long Beach and served as a Los Angeles Municipal Court deputy marshal and a court clerk before earning his law degree in 1971 from Pacific Coast University School of Law in Long Beach.
He practiced for 15 years with the Long Beach firm of Stump, Garner & Wright and was appointed to the Long Beach Municipal Court by then-Gov. George Deukmejian in 1987.
He served as that court’s presiding judge in 1988-89, and was names “Trial Judge of the Year” in 1991 by the Long Beach Bar Association. He served on the Republican State Central Committee in 1967-68 and again in 1986-87 and on the county committee from 1984 to 1986.
He could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company