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Judge Michael Levanas to Retire Next Week
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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MICHAEL I. LEVANAS Superior Court judge |
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael I. Levanas’s last day on the bench will be next Tuesday and he will officially retire Oct. 13.
He served as supervising judge of the Probate Department in 2013 and was presiding judge of the Juvenile Court in 2015.
In 2016, he approved the $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers over the protest of multi-billionaire attorney/businessman Donald Sterling, ruling that Sterling’s estranged wife had the authority to make the deal.
Levanas was appointed to the court by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Feb.16, of 2005. He was, at the time, a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner, a post to which he was elected by judges five years earlier.
He served before that as a deputy public defender and was in private practice.
His law degree is from Rutgers.
Levanas said yesterday:
“Simply put, I have loved being a civil servant. Over the past 21 years on the bench, I have served in virtually every case type – civil, probate, family law, mental health, criminal, and juvenile. In addition, I was fortunate to have been tapped for court leadership as the Supervising Judge of Probate and Mental Health and the Presiding Judge of the LASC Juvenile Courts.
“The best advice I got about being a judicial officer was written on a post-it given to me by Justice (then Judge) Boland, and it was simple: ‘RESPECT=RESPECT.’ I stuck it on the back of my name plate as a constant reminder and it has served me well over the years.
“I plan to stay involved in law, but will miss being a part of the Los Angeles Superior Court family. And, I hope to carve out more time for bicycling, sailing, and grandpa duties.”
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