[X] Sharon Ransom

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Page 1

EDITORIAL

Sharon Ransom

Los Angeles Superior Court Office No.97

here are two exceedingly impressive candidates for Office No. 97: Deputy District Attorneys Sam Abourched and Sharon Ransom. Both have had complex litigation assignments. Both are industrious, intelligent, and seemingly immune from developing “judgeitis,” that disease that turns lawyers into tyrants upon donning a black robe.

Should either win in the three-way contest, the public will be well served.

Also running is private practitioner La Shae Henderson. As to her candidacy, the most polite reaction we can offer is: “Uhg.”

“D

eputy District Attorney Sharon Ransom has extensive trial experience, is respected by judges, judicial staff, opposing counsel, and her colleagues,” one member of the Los Angeles Superior Court tells us. “She exudes all the necessary characteristics to be a judge. She is smart, fair, has integrity, patience, compassionate, has a great work ethic.”

Another judge says Ransom “is a remarkable person and would make an excellent judge.”

A third judge remarks:

“I saw Sharon in trial on a murder case. She is an excellent attorney and an extremely nice person, well liked, personable and even keeled. I recommend Sharon.”

When Ransom ran two years ago, judges and others likewise heaped praise on her.

n her last three office performance evaluations, Ransom was rated “Exceeded Expectations (Very Good).” The office is behind in issuing what used to be annual reports in light of being short-staffed. Here are snippets from reports on Ransom:

For the period of Feb. 12, 2018 to Feb. 11, 2019:

“Ms. Ransom is a dedicated, committed and hard-working member of the Elder Abuse Section. She regularly offered to make court appearances in different courthouses around the County for her Elder Abuse colleagues who were engaged in other court matters.”

“Ms. Ransom consistently displayed excellent analytical skills and used reasoned and sound judgment when discussing cases with her supervisors.”

“Ms. Ransom easily identified the legal and factual issues in her cases and developed effective strategies to address those issues. She is a smart and resourceful litigator.”

For the period of Feb. 12, 2019 to Feb. 11, 2020:

“Ms. Ransom was assigned to the Major Narcotics Division (MND) effective January 22. 2019. She steadily acquired a case load and by August 2019 was carrying one of the heaviest case loads in MND.”

“Ms. Ransom is always looking for more work and constantly seeks out new challenges. Ms. Ransom is well-liked by her colleagues and support staff….”

For the period of Feb. 12, 2020 to Feb. 11, 2021:

“Ms. Ransom always volunteers for additional work and to assist her colleagues.”

“Ms. Ransom is friendly, hardworking, and well-liked by her colleagues. She requires little, if any, supervision, and can always be depended on to complete her assignments professionally and efficiently.”

e solicited comments from judges on many of the candidates, including Abourched. None offered any words about him. However, he’s handled such matters as parole hearings—back when the District Attorney’s Office participated in such hearings—and is consequently less known to the judiciary than Ransom.

(He did accumulate endorsements by judges. Some of them embrace candidacies only when they actually know of the person’s capacity, some examine a candidate’s credentials, and some give out endorsements casually .)

In three of his last four office performance evaluations, Abourched was rated as “Exceeded Expectations (Very Good).” Although he was proclaimed to have been merely “Competent” in the period from May 5, 2019 to May 4, 2020, the preparation of the report was farcical in light of the notation that “Mr. Abourched was on military leave during the entirety of this rating period.”

Here’s what the reports say:

For the period from Nov. 10, 2016 to Nov. 9, 2017:

“Mr. Abourched is a true team player and a valuable asset to the Antelope Valley Branch. Mr. Abourched is always willing to assist his fellow employees and he does so without complaint. He researches the law for his fellow DDAs and continually assists the newer DDAs of which there are many. In particular, he goes to the preliminary court at the request of the Head Deputy and assists in mentoring the DDAs assigned to do preliminary hearings.”

For the period from May 5, 2020 to May 4, 2021:

“Mr. Abourched manages a very heavy caseload and he does so without complaint. Although a Grade III. he works at the level of an experienced Grade IV DDA. He works well with victims and victim next of kin. He is very compassionate and understanding….

“Mr. Abourched is a consummate professional. He is excellent at his role. He is an absolute pleasure to work with. I believe he would excel at any assignment within this Office and is an excellent candidate for Grade IV.”

For the period from May 5, 2021 to May 4, 2022:

“Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Abourched is one of four DDAs assigned to the Lifer Unit under the Parole Division. He is assigned to participate in a complex workflow that is designed to locate and notify victims of crime and victim next of kin (VNOK) of murder victims that a parole hearing is scheduled for the inmate that harmed them or their loved one. The task is challenging as those he seeks to contact experience, at times, extreme emotional distress and re-traumatization.”

“Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Abourched performed admirably under challenging conditions when office policies changed drastically pertaining to the Lifer Unit mission. He adjusted faithfully to the new policies while doing all he could to support victims of crime and victim next of kin of those murdered.”

here are certain stock phrases that are used in the reports—where warranted. Both candidates, in the latest evaluation, drew these plaudits:

“•Consistently, frequently, and successfully completed assigned tasks with minimal supervision, employing a high level of professional and interpersonal skills.”

“•Consistently and frequently worked beyond scheduled hours in order to ensure assigned work was completed and/or fully prepared.”

“•Regularly demonstrated thorough knowledge of applicable law, procedure, and evidence.”

“•Regularly prepared accurate written work product on legal issues when appropriate and necessary.”

“•Regularly interacted in a professional manner with opposing counsel and bench officers.”

“•Effectively resolved novel, unusual, or rare legal issues with wisdom, creativity, and sound judgment.”

“•Regularly managed extremely complex cases and/or projects in an effective manner.”

bourched has the distinction of being both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. Impossible? A conflict? Actually not. He’s a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and devotes time to service in the Judge Advocate General Corps, defending accused soldiers. In the most recent officer evaluation report of him, in November 2021, a rater said:

“Outstanding performance by the best CPT in the Region. CPT Abourched is a very knowledgeable, capable, and diligent Judge Advocate who tirelessly devoted himself to his clients. His demonstrated maturity and judgement [sic] allowed him to ably represent senior officer clients…and his thoroughness produced excellent results in his 14 cases.”

The rater added:

“CPT Abourched’s intellect is absolutely unparalleled. His demonstrated mental agility allowed him to adjust case strategy rapidly to ensure the best outcomes for his clients. His sound judgment and interpersonal tact allow him to interact to maximum effect with commanders, board members, colleagues and clients. His ability to think creatively is critical to his success in representing clients.

A senior rater declared:

“Sam’s potential is unlimited, he is a natural leader and gifted advocate. Continue to challenge this officer with difficult assignments. Sam is a must-select for Major.”

In 2019, a rater said:

“CPT Abourched has a brilliant legal mind. He resolved the most complex and challenging legal issues affecting the Command’s requirements, to include developing culling edge legal positions being briefed….”

Abourched has served in the Air Force. He’s also been in the FBI and in 2003 received the “FBI Director’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation” based on his participation in crushing a terrorist cell.

enderson is a criminal defense attorney. The office address she lists with the State Bar is a Post Office box number in Diamond Bar.

Notwithstanding that she left the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office last year, she has—to her discredit and that of the Registrar-Recorder’s Office—the untruthful ballot designation of “Deputy Public Defender,” in contravention of a provision of the Code of Regulations.

While it’s a sure bet that, as a deputy public defender last year, she had no client trust funds in an account, she was still obliged to abide by the State Bar’s annual reporting requirement. She didn’t and was placed on involuntary inactive status from July 1 through Sept. 5.

She has no campaign committee of her own. She is backed by an Oakland-based political action committee, “Justice PAC by La Defensa, a Project of Tides Advocacy for Henderson, Turner and Wiley for Judge 2024.” Tides Advocacy funds left-wing, in some instances extremist, groups and causes.

s between Abourched and Ransom, it’s a difficult call. Both are decidedly well suited for judicial office.

Abourched joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2012, then spent some time away from that office, serving his nation in the military. Ransom has been a deputy district attorney since 2005. Seniority is, certainly, not a sure mark of superiority. Someone who has been in a job for, say, 20 years, performing in a so-so manner, might well lack skills and potential possessed by a relative newcomer. But here, seniority does count given that Ransom has not merely held her post longer, but has displayed a high degree of proficiency in it.

She’s handled about 45 jury trials and numerous bench trials. In the area of experience, she has an edge.

Two years ago, we endorsed then-Deputy District Attorney (now Judge) Abby Baron over Ransom based on the exceedingly glowing comments we received concerning Baron. We noted, however, that Ransom “by most accounts is highly qualified for a judgeship.”

Abourched and Ransom are both, in our estimation, highly qualified. While not minimizing Abourched’s credentials, we endorse Ransom.