News
Law Practice
Feb. 28, 2002
Lawyer Faces Tough Task of Unseating Judge
LOS ANGELES - Judge C. Robert Simpson believes he has served the public well on the bench during the past 13 years. Why then, he asks himself, is Glendale lawyer Kenneth E. Wright challenging him in the March 5 primary?
Why then, he asks himself, is Glendale lawyer Kenneth E. Wright challenging him in the March 5 primary?
"It's the great mystery of the hour," Simpson said, "why he chose to run, why he selected me as an opponent, what he's doing, if anything, by way of presenting himself to the electorate. I have no information."
Has Simpson done something to anger his challenger?
"I wouldn't know the man if I stumbled over him," he said. "It's strange."
Wright, however, says it's nothing personal. He simply wants to be a judge, and this is the seat he chose, apparently ignoring prevailing thought that unseating a judge would be next to impossible.
According to Simpson's campaign consultant, Joseph R. Cerrell, the fact that all state court elections are now countywide virtually insures that an incumbent will prevail since a challenger has a potential voting pool of millions that he or she would have to sway.
Cerrell, who has handled judicial campaigns since the 1970s, jokingly calls court unification "the Incumbents Protective Act."
"It makes it virtually impossible to unseat an incumbent unless you have some cause," he says.
And "cause," he added, likely would have to rise to the level of a criminal allegation or allegation of sexual misconduct to have any real impact.
But Wright says advice from others led him to focus his efforts on Office No. 90.
"The choice [of office] was made based on input from a lot of different people," he said, declining to elaborate.
The 39-year-old lawyer at the firm of Cline & Associates said he has nothing negative to say about Simpson.
"I don't want to speak about his qualifications," Wright said. "I'd rather stand on my own. I think I have a lot to offer."
He added, "I just come from a very different background than he does."
For the past 10 years, Wright has handled diverse civil cases on the defense side, from defamation to wrongful death and catastrophic injuries.
"I live and breathe the law," Wright said. "I love the law and am extremely active in the law, as my statistics and legal-education activities reflect."
In addition to practicing, Wright is co-writing a legal practice guide on the subject of tort litigation. In the past five years, he has been involved in 82 binding and nonbinding arbitrations and 142 mediations and settlement conferences and has taken or defended 616 depositions and 90 expert depositions, he said.
Despite those numbers, Simpson, 77, says that he is the more qualified man for the job.
"I've had six years of experience in criminal," he said, "and I've had seven years on civil and tried just about every case known to man - everything from an intersection collision to medical malpractice to, on the criminal side, everything from assault and battery to capital murder. I've had a great deal of judicial experience, and I know the work, and I enjoy the work."
Simpson is by far the better-funded candidate. He reported having $40,259 in cash at the close of the Jan. 19 reporting period. Wright, on the other hand, has reported raising less than $1,000.
Simpson also has the endorsements of political heavyweights such as Attorney General Bill Lockyer, former Gov. George Deukmejian, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.
There is one thing that Simpson wants voters to know, he said.
"I do thoroughly enjoy the work of being a judge," he said.
"I think I do a good job of it, and I would consider it a great honor to be re-elected," Simpson said.
This is the third time Simpson has been up for re-election, he said, and no one has ever challenged him before.
The Los Angeles County Bar Association rated Simpson "Well Qualified" and Wright "Qualified" for the post.
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Erin Carroll
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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