Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Thursday, January 14, 2010

 

Page 1

 

Judge Weisman Will Not Run, Sets May Retirement Date

Decision Creates Second Open Seat for June 8 Primary Ballot

 

By a MetNews Staff Writer

 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William R. Weisman said yesterday that he will not be seeking re-election and plans to step down in May after 20 years on the bench.

“I’ve been doing this legal business since 1970,” he commented. “That’s long enough for me.”

Weisman said he plans to “finish out my 20 years,” to the day. He took his oath of office May 10, 1990, and said that he will “still be on the payroll” until May 10 of this year, although he may use some vacation time before then.

“But come May the 11th, I’m gone,” he said.

Although he said he has enjoyed his judicial career, Weisman opined that it was “time to try something else.”

He said he had no plans to return on assignment or go into private judging. “I’m leaving the law behind and moving on to the next phase,” the jurist said.

At 62, Weisman said “there’s a lot of things I haven’t done and a lot of things I’d like to try,” which he would like to make room for in his retirement.

Among those activities are traveling, photography, reading and cooking.

“I’d like to get a lot better at my photo editing,” he said. “And I love to cook.”

Plans to Cook

After “clipping recipes for years,” Weisman said he was eager to give some of them a shot, and that he may also take some cooking classes as well.

Weisman, a former deputy attorney general, was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by then-Gov. George Deukmejian and elevated to the Superior Court by unification in 2000.

He served 17 years with the Attorney General’s office, eight of which he spent as statewide coordinator for the “Victims Bill of Rights” measure. Weisman also authored a manual used by prosecutors throughout the state on recusal law.

A 1970 graduate of California State University, Northridge, he attended Loyola Law School and was admitted to practice in 1973.

Second Open Seat

Weisman’s retirement opens up a second confirmed seat in the June 8 primary. The other belongs to Judge William Pounders, who has said he plans to stop down when his term ends next January.

Among the judicial hopefuls who have said they will be seeking open seats are Calabasas solo practitioner William M. Margolin; Deputy District Attorneys Valerie F. Salkin, Laurie Trammell Castaneda, Alan K. Schneider and Lou Holtz Jr.; Beverly Hills attorney Mark K. Ameli; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Garcia; Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney Thomas J. Griego; Pasadena personal injury attorney Anthony de los Reyes; Los Angeles Superior Court Referee Randolph M. Hammock; and West Los Angeles attorney and mediator Elizabeth A. Moreno.

The first day for candidates to circulate paperwork in order to obtain signatures of registered voters to be submitted in lieu of a filing fee was Jan. 4, and candidates may file declarations of intent to run beginning Feb. 1. They must file final nomination documents between Feb. 16 and March 12.

 

Copyright 2010, Metropolitan News Company