News
Law Practice
Feb. 26, 2002
Incumbent, Hopeful Duel Over Newhall Bench
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Floyd V. Baxter's dad used to have a saying: "If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it because, if you do, you'll probably screw it up."
It may be a little corny, Baxter admits, but he has taken it on as a campaign slogan. He has been on the bench almost 17 years, and Baxter, who sits in Newhall, doesn't think he needs any fixing.
His opponent, Santa Clarita sole practitioner Ross Stucker, disagrees. Stucker is challenging Baxter in the March 5 primary for Superior Court judge.
Of the 140 judges up for re-election this year, Baxter is one of only two sitting judges who face a challenge.
Some call the race a grudge match. Stucker was once a temporary commissioner in the Newhall Courthouse but was replaced several years ago while Baxter was the supervising judge. Neither man will comment on the circumstances surrounding the decision.
Responding to the fact that some have called the race a grudge match, Stucker says, "Call it what they want."
Stucker says what he really is after are the responsibilities of his old job.
"Every day I worked that 21/2 years, I looked forward to going to work," he said. "I looked forward to doing it. It's in my blood. ... That's the gospel truth."
Stucker said he wants voters to know how dedicated he is "to the career itself.
"It has nothing to do with ego or power or anything else," he said. "It's just a love of seeing right prevail."
Baxter, however, says Stucker has not articulated any reason why he should be replaced on the bench.
"If you run against a sitting judge, there should be an issue. [For example], 'This guy shouldn't be a judge anymore because blank,' or 'As a candidate, here's what I can do better than he's doing,'" he said. "I haven't heard any of that."
Making Stucker's bid to replace Baxter difficult will be Stucker's "Not Qualified" rating by the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Baxter received a "Well Qualified" rating.
Responding to his rating, Stucker said that he believes the bar association's ranking system is unfair and that he got the short end of the stick because he is not an incumbent.
"I'm a political outsider. I am not connected," he said.
He also believes that the ranking committee ignored negative things about his competitor while focusing on anything negative they may have learned about him.
Baxter, 65, was appointed to the bench in 1985. Since 1989, he also has served as an adjunct professor of business law at College of the Canyons in Valencia. He served in the Vietnam War and is a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. On weekends since October, he has been volunteering in the judge advocate general's office, processing soldiers who are going on active duty. He is a 1974 graduate of the San Fernando Valley College of Law.
Stucker, 53, practices both civil and criminal law. He worked from 1985 to 1995 for the office of the alternate defense counsel, an alternate public defender's office. He has served as an arbitrator and judge pro tem for the court. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of LaVerne College of Law.
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Erin Carroll
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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