In addition to deciding among all the City Council members, mayors, members of Congress and sheriffs who are running for election this year, voters will also be asked to pick nine judges to preside over the Los Angeles County court system. Do you know who they are? 

Some of the races have as many as six candidates, and unless you’re deeply entrenched in the local criminal justice system, you likely haven’t heard of any of them. The Junior League of Long Beach and the League of Women Voters want to change that.

The two groups are hosting a candidate forum Wednesday evening that will include 26 of the 34 candidates running for the nine positions. The candidates will speak about a number of issues including the role of the court, diversion programs and steps they would take to combat implicit bias if they’re elected. 

“You’ll get to hear them speak, talk about their backgrounds, see how they carry themselves,” said Heather Brel, the advocacy and outreach events coordinator with the Junior League. “It kind of says how they’ll be as a judge.” 

The event is virtual and is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. The group is recommending that people interested in hearing the judges speak register for the event even if they can’t watch live because it will make it easier to link them with the video that will be archived by the League of Women Voters. 

Brel said that there are some issues that the candidates can’t talk about, which includes specific cases or any issues that might end up before them if they’re elected. 

“They don’t know what type of assignment they’ll be placed in if they win,” Brel said. “They could be in civil court, traffic court or be handling criminal cases. They just can’t really offer opinions on something that they might have to decide on.” 

The forum could give voters insight into candidates who are often overlooked, or picked at random, by voters when filling out their ballots but serve a critical role in the community.

Judges not only control court proceedings but also get to decide the length of prison sentences or can throw out cases in exchange for people charged with crimes completing diversion programs. 

For some, that could mean community service instead of jail time and a permanent mark on their records. 

Summer Smith, co-chair of the Junior League’s advocate and outreach committee, said the idea originated in part from personal experience of not being familiar with judicial candidates, but also to put a face to the name on the ballots voters will be filling out over the next month.

“We thought it would be a good avenue to hear people who are running for these positions,” Smith said. “It’s important to see a face instead of a formalized statement you might read somewhere online.” 

There are other resources to help voters choose judicial candidates like the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s candidate ratings, which rank candidates’ qualifications for the job, or Voter’s Edge, which provides brief biographical information, endorsements and priorities of the candidates.

The League of Women Voters also lists a number of other sites that evaluate the professional qualifications and post voter guides for superior court judges. 

To register for the May 11 forum click on this link.