Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Page 3
ADL to Honor Judge Wesley For Anti-Bullying Efforts
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Pacific Southwest Region of the Anti-Defamation League will honor Los Angeles Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge David Wesley March 13 for efforts to end bullying by young people, the group said Friday.
Wesley will be among several winners of the Helene and Joseph Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate. The ADL, one of the nation’s oldest organizations devoted to combating racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of bigotry, will present the awards at a luncheon in West Los Angeles.
The jurist is being honored for having “[c]reated SHADES, a landmark teen court program that provides an opportunity for selected juvenile offenders in trouble for bullying and committing hate incidents to be questioned, judged and sentenced by a jury of their peers.”
The ADL said it would also honor police and prosecutors for their efforts to take down violent white supremacist gangs operating in Southern California. Among the agencies being honored are the United States Attorney’s Office, for its prosecution of the Azusa 13 gang, which terrorized African Americans in the East San Gabriel Valley, and for Operation Stormfront, which led to arrests of white supremacist gang members in Orange County.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will be honored for its participation in Operation Stormfront, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for its prosecution of the Canoga Park Alabama Gang.
Master of ceremonies for the luncheon will be actor Rob Morrow of “Northern Exposure” and “Numb3rs” fame. Further information is available by calling 310-446- 4264, the ADL said, or on the group’s website.
Copyright 2012, Metropolitan News Company