The Complete Guide to Los Angeles Bar Associations: Groups, Leadership, and Major Milestones

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When voters decide contested judicial elections in November, they rarely know the candidates running for open Superior Court seats. Candidates are forbidden by ethical codes from discussing specific rulings or making partisan promises. In this informational vacuum, the LACBA judicial evaluations serve as the benchmark metric for voter guides, editorial boards, and political slate mailers.

The evaluation committee follows a rigorous, multi-tiered peer review protocol. Each cycle, dozens of Superior Court judicial candidates submit comprehensive career documentation, including detailed lists of past trials, opposing counsel contacts, and judicial references. The committee conducts confidential interviews across the legal community, checking judicial temperament, trial competence, professional ethics, and courtroom bias.

Candidates receive one of four formal peer review ratings:

• Exceptionally Well Qualified: Reserved for candidates demonstrating superior professional competence, widely recognized integrity, and deep courtroom maturity.
• Well Qualified: Awarded to candidates who possess high professional competence and the necessary experience to perform judicial duties immediately.
• Qualified: Reflects adequate trial seasoning, clean disciplinary standing, and appropriate temperament to manage a courtroom docket.
• Not Qualified: Issued when the vetting committee identifies significant deficits in legal knowledge, insufficient courtroom trial days, or ethical and temperament issues.

A "Not Qualified" rating can quickly unravel an expensive judicial campaign, while an "Exceptionally Well Qualified" stamp provides public defenders or civil litigators the credibility needed to overcome well-funded prosecutorial slates.