Wednesday, February 4, 2026
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Lawyer Says He’s Challenging Walgren Based on Bias
Three-Time Unsuccessful Candidate Faults Incumbent for Hiking Bail in Case; Specifics Not Detailed
By Roger M. Grace, editor
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Depicted is judicial candidate Dan Kapelovitz clad in a tee-shirt bearing his law office’s logo. He advises on his attorney website: “Radical Law Center T-shirts, sweatshirts, and stickers with the ‘Fist of Justice’™ logo now available!” |
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The lawyer who has declared an intent to oppose Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Walgren in the June 2 primary election has revealed that he is launching a challenge based on what he says is pro-prosecution bias on the part of the incumbent, citing, in particular, his raising the amount of bail following a preliminary hearing.
Dan Kapelovitz, who was admitted to practice on Dec. 6, 2009 and is a graduate of the law school at UCLA, said Monday night:
“Not only does David Walgren lean heavily in favor of the prosecution, he often leans more heavily in favor of prosecuting the defendant than the actual prosecutor.”
Raising Bail
He later elaborated:
“When Walgren was in a preliminary hearing court, he did something that no other judge in L.A. County does: If a defendant was arrested and then posted bail and then showed up to court on time to his or her arraignment and to every other court date before and including the preliminary hearing, Walgren would raise that defendant’s bail after the preliminary hearing and have that defendant thrown in jail. But bail cannot be lawfully changed unless there is ‘a change of circumstances.’ Walgren incorrectly claimed that being held to answer at the preliminary hearing is a change of circumstances that allowed him to raise the defendant’s bail.
“This is absurd for a couple of reasons: First, 99% of defendants are held to answer for trial at the preliminary hearing because the standard of proof is extremely low, so is that really a change of circumstances — that something that happens in nearly every case happens? Second, at arraignment for purpose of setting bail, the Court assumes that the ‘facts’ stated in the police reports are true. Thus, this standard of proof is 100%—even higher than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Thus, that Walgren found that there was probable cause that a defendant committed a crime means nothing in terms of bail because the judge at arraignment already set bail as if the allegations were 100% true. So there is no change of circumstances. The reason I say that Walgren ‘leans’ even more heavily in favor of prosecuting the accused than the actual prosecutor is that, in the above situation, the prosecutor is usually (if not always) not requesting that the bail be raised. Nor are they asking the judge to throw the accused in jail. Walgren does that sua sponte.”
The judge did not accept an invitation to comment.
Former Prosecutor
Walgren, whose law degree is from the University of California at Davis, was appointed to the Superior Court by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. He was, at the time, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.
He was lead prosecutor in the successful prosecution of Dr. Conrad Murray whose prescription of a dangerous drug was the cause of the death of entertainer Michael Jackson.
A perusal of Court of Appeal opinions shows that Walgren has a high affirmance rate. The challenger pointed to no criticisms of the incumbent’s practices in any opinion.
No Apparent Office
The address listed for Kapelovitz’s law firm—The Radical Law Center—is 8149 Santa Monica Blvd, #999, West Hollywood, CA 90046-4912. That’s the address of a business where mail boxes can be rented.
There is no ninth floor office; the building has a single story.
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Kapelovitz, on his law-practice website and his campaign website, uses as his address 7119 W. Sunset Blvd., #999. That’s the site of Sunset Blvd Mailboxes.
Using such an address is in conformity with California Rules of Court, rule 9.9(a)(1)—but only if the attorney has no actual office address. The rule requires that each licensee report to the State Bar “[a] current office address and telephone number, or if none, an alternative address.”
Prior Campaigns
In the March 5, 2024 primary election, Kapelovitz came in twelfth in a field of 12 candidates for Los Angeles County district attorney, attaining only 1.2 percent of the vote. His platform included the position that “mere possession of drugs should be decriminalized” and his opposition to “fearmongers out there who think the answer to everything crime-related is more incarceration.”
On June 7, 2022, running as a member of the Green Party, he came in fifth in a field of five candidates with 3.2% of the vote.
Kapelovitz was also a candidate in a Sept. 14, 2021 special election for governor of California, with balloting premised on a condition that was not met of Gavin Newsom being recalled. The lawyer, running as a member of the Green Party, placed 15th among 46 contenders, attaining .9% of the ballots.
IMDb Biographical Sketch
A “mini biography” of Kapelovitz, by Don Perteller, appears on the IMDb website, geared to the entertainment industry. It says:
“Dan Kapelovitz grew up on the mean streets of unincorporated Arapahoe County in Colorado. He studied film at Wesleyan University, where his thesis film ‘The Bastard Son of a Virgin Whore’ won the Frank Capra Award for Best Comedy. From 1996 to 2006, Kapelovitz produced nearly two hundred episodes of the highly influential experimental TV shows ‘Threee Geniuses’ and ‘Kapelovision’ while working numerous odd jobs, such as grocery delivery boy, human test subject, and Features Editor of Hustler Magazine.”
It continues:
“In 2013, Kapelovitz finalized a project that took 20 years to complete entitled ‘Triple Fisher: The Lethal Lolitas of Long Island,’ in which he combined all three Amy Fisher made-for-TV movies into one ultimate meta-drama. Today, Kapelovitz is a criminal defense attorney in Hollywood. In 2014, he started work on his next film project, ‘48 Hrs. Literally,’ a film based on the 1982 Eddie Murphy/Nick Nolte action comedy that will literally have a running time of 48 hours.”
Other Challenged Judge
Walgren is one of two Los Angeles Superior Court judges drawing challenges as of mid-afternoon yesterday. The other is Judge Robert Draper who is under investigation by the Commission on Judicial Performance based on odd conduct, with a suspicion noted that the jurist, who has been under the care of a psychiatrist, might be suffering a disability.
Declaring their intention to challenge him are attorney Allan L. Dollison—who was himself under the care of a psychiatrist as of 2001 when the State Bar publicly reported circumstances of his one year of actual suspension based on 16 counts of misconduct—and Deputy District Attorney Tal K. Valbuena.
Today is the last day to file declarations of intent to challenge a judge who is up for election. Monday is the final day to file a declaration to run for an open seat.
Filing a declaration of intent to run for Office No. 39 yesterday was Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Bing Q. Dang. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, she was admitted to the State Bar in 2003.
Dang ran unsuccessfully two years ago for a judgeship on the Orange Superior Court, attaining only 25.5% of the vote in a two-person race in the primary.
Here are the races for open seats, as they shaped up as of mid-afternoon yesterday:
Office No. 39 (held by Judge Kimberley Guillemet): Deputy Public Defender Binh Q. Dang.
Office No. 60 (held by Judge Richard Goul): Deputy District Attorney Rosalba Luz Gutierrez.
Office No. 64 (held by Judge Lauren Weis Birnstein): —
Office No. 65 (held by Judge Timothy Martella): —
Office No. 87 (held by Judge Holly Fujie): —
Office No. 131 (held by Judge Joseph Brandolino): Los Angeles County Deputy Alternate Public Defender David Ross.
Office No. 196 (held by Judge Craig Richman): Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Candice Henry.
Office No. 176 (held by Judge Hector Guzman): Deputy District Attorney Gloria Marin.
Other incumbents had not filed declarations of intent as of mid-afternoon but have not confirmed that they do not intend to run. Possible open seats are:
Office No. 14 (held by Judge Christina Hill).
Office No. 66 (held by Judge Marc D. Gross).
Office No. 141 (held by Judge Kathleen Blanchard).
Office No. 181 (held by Judge Richard Fruin).
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