Ousting of Superior Court judge upsets state's legal community
ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 9, 2006
LOS ANGELES – Dzintra Janavs is a highly regarded, 20-year Superior Court judge who was endorsed by the district attorney and sheriff and was rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the county Bar Association. Lynn Diane Olson is a bagel store owner who had barely practiced law during the past decade and was called “not qualified” by the association.
In a development that shocked and dismayed the legal community, Olson defeated Janavs in Tuesday's election by almost 8 percentage points. Judge Terry Friedman, president of the California Judges Association, said he knew of only two other instances in the past 30 years in which a sitting jurist was voted out of office.
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Janavs, 69, attributed her loss to being outspent by Olson, 42, who pumped about $100,000 of her money into the race. Janavs reported about $42,000 in contributions by May 20. “Let me put it this way, my reaction is: Money can buy anything,” Janavs said.
Olson dismissed her “not qualified” rating, saying she chose not to meet with bar officials. “When have they ever not endorsed a sitting judge?” said Olson, a Democrat.
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