Monday, February 8, 2016
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Judge Kathleen O. Diesman Says She Will Not Seek Reelection
Prosecutor Files for Seat, One of Four Open Slots Likely to Appear on June 7 Primary Ballot
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen O. Diesman said Friday she would not seek reelection, and a deputy district attorney filed a declaration of intent to run for her seat.
The judge made her plans known in a statement issued by the court.
“Judge Diesman is not renewing her term of office in order to transition into the next phase of life with her husband, who recently retired,” the statement read. “It is with gratitude and sadness that she is moving on at this time. She hopes to continue serving the people of the state of California as a retired judge in the family law arena and to have some time to pursue personal interests. She states that it truly has been an honor to serve as a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court.”
Deputy District Attorney Philip Marshall became the first candidate to succeed Diesman.
He announced his plans to run months ago and has retained consultant David Gould. But Gould said he expects another client of his, Deputy District Attorney Steven Schreiner, to file for the seat this
Marshall acknowledged Friday that he may have to change consultants because the number of names on Gould’s client list is a multiple of the number of available seats.
Schwarzenegger Appointee
Diesman, 64, was appointed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2008. She was a deputy district attorney at the time.
The Chicago native earned her law degree at DePaul University in that city, after having earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Toronto and taught in the Canadian city’s schools.
She joined a large insurance defense firm in Chicago and came to Los Angeles for what was to be a temporary assignment in the firm’s Los Angeles office, she told the MetNews at the time of her appointment. But she decided to stay when the opportunity presented itself.
She joined the District Attorney’s Office in 1990, she said, because she had only been able to try one case in civil practice and wanted to spend more time in court.
At the time of the appointment, she was handling Proposition 36 drug possession cases in downtown Los Angeles after having previously specialized in child abuse prosecutions for several years.
Family Law Court
As a judge, she has sat in criminal, limited civil and family law departments, and currently resides in a family law court in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. Diesman has been a member of the Court’s Judicial Education Cross-Over Committee, Community Outreach Committee, Power Lunch Committee and Civil and Small Claims Committee.
Her departure means there are likely to be four open seats on the court in the June primary. Judge Michele Rosenblatt announced earlier last week that she would not be running, and Judges Alan Rosenfield and Ray Santana are not expected to run.
The other 170 incumbent judges up for election this year have all filed, or at least taken out, the paperwork to run for new terms.
Other Filings
Deputy District Attorneys Javier Perez and Debra Archuleta and Superior Court Commissioner Cynthia Zuzga—all Gould clients—have filed for Rosenblatt’s seat. Another Gould client, Deputy District Attorney Susan Jung Townsend, has filed for Rosenfield’s, while Deputy District Attorneys Fred Mesropi and Efrain Aceves have filed for Santana’s seat, as have Zuzga and sole practitioner Eric Ibisi.
Candidates can file declarations of intent to run for multiple seats, and do not have to commit to a particular race until they file nomination documents, which are due between Feb. 16 and March 11.
Copyright 2016, Metropolitan News Company