Five attorneys have declared their intention to campaign for the empty Santa Barbara County Superior Court seat left by ousted Judge Diana Hall.

The candidates filed their intention to run for Hall's vacant position by the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.

Hall, who had been under fire since her December 2002 arrest for drunken driving and other charges, was removed from office in December 2006 by a state panel that cited the “seriousness and breadth of her misconduct.”

Hopefuls include: Kevin Ready, Jed Beebe, Patricia Kelly, Lynn Cutler and John MacKinnon.

Kelly, Cutler and MacKinnon are all prosecutors with the county District Attorney's Office in Santa Maria.

Ready is an attorney with Santa Barbara County, and Beebe is a research attorney for the Superior Court in Santa Maria.

Aside from Hall's spot, five other judges in the county are up for reelection in June. Superior Court judges come up for reelection every six years. All the current judges up for reelection have filed declarations of intent to run for their positions, and all but one are running unopposed, said Suzanne Post with candidates services for Santa Barbara County.

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The judges in the county up for reelection include: Thomas Adams, Brian Hill, Frank Ochoa and Joseph Lodge in Santa Barbara, and Edward Bullard in Santa Maria.

William LeFils Duval Jr. filed his intent to run against Adams, Post said. Duval is an attorney practicing in Santa Barbara.

Attorney Woody Lavayen, chief deputy with the County Counsel's Office, said that a vacant judicial position can either be filled by a governor's appointment or by election.

In the instance of the Hall vacancy, the method of filling the position was a timing issue, he said.

Had Hall remained in office, she would have been up for reelection this June, Lavayen said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had not yet appointed a judge to sit in Hall's former seat, Lavayen said, and “it's got to go to the election.”

Judge Arthur Garcia has moved from his previous job in juvenile court to hearing civil cases in Hall's former courtroom of Department 4 in Santa Maria, said Darrel Parker, assistant trial courts executive officer for Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Retired Judge Zel Canter was sitting in Hall's courtroom before Garcia moved in, and has recently been hearing criminal matters in Department 7 in Santa Maria, Parker said.

Judge James Herman transferred to juvenile court last year from his position hearing criminal cases in Santa Maria court's Department 7.

The need for the judge to be elected in June would be in Department 7, Parker said, adding that the judges and their departments could be rearranged by the time the position is filled.

In addition to the spot left by Hall, there is another vacancy in Superior Court in Santa Maria.

Judge Rodney Melville, previously the presiding judge of Santa Barbara County Superior Court, retired in October.

He is staying in his position hearing civil matters in Department 2, waiting for the governor to appoint a successor, Parker said.

The attorneys who have declared their intention to run for judge each paid the filing fee of $1,788. Applicants have the option of gathering 6,866 signatures in lieu of paying the fee, Post said. She said she's never seen anyone gather the signatures instead of paying the fee.

Judge applicants must declare their candidacy and file their nomination papers by March 7.

They must be citizens of the United States, reside in the county of election, and be registered voters. They also must be State Bar members for a minimum of 10 years or a judge of a California court of record for 10 years immediately proceeding the election.

Other positions up for election in the county in June include the 1st, 3rd and 4th district seats on the Board of Supervisors.

Samantha Yale can be reached at 739-2159 or syale@santamariatimes.com.

February 8, 2008