Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Page 1
Deputy D.A, Deputy A.G. File for Superior Court Seat
Berger, Nguyen File for Post Now Held by Judge Elden Fox, Not Expected to Seek Reelection
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer
Two prosecutors, both of whom previously announced they would run for the Los Angeles Superior Court, yesterday filed declarations of intent to seek the seat of Judge Elden Fox.
Deputy District Attorney David Berger and Deputy Attorney General Kim Nguyen each expressed an expectation that Fox would not run. The judge did not return a MetNews phone call, but a source said Fox had “only told about 300 people” that he wasn’t going to seek another term.
Berger retained campaign consultant David Gould more than a year ago. Fox endorsed him for election to the court, but not for a specific seat.
England Native
Berger has been with the District Attorney’s Office for 19 years, starting as a law clerk, and holds degrees from the University of London—he is a native of England—and Loyola Law School. He also edits the “Los Angeles Dragnet” blog and played an active role in successful efforts to end the affiliation between the Association of Deputy District Attorneys and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
Nguyen’s campaign will be guided by Parke Skelton of SG&A Campaigns. Her husband, Mike Shimpock, is a partner in the firm.
Nguyen is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and notes on her website that she would, if elected, be the only Vietnamese-American judge on the local trial bench. She is a graduate of UCLA and of Harvard Law School.
Admitted to the State Bar in 2000, she has previously worked as a staff attorney to this district’s Court of Appeal and as a civil appellate attorney in private practice, and has taught at Loyola Law School.
Others Filing
In related news:
•Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta, a 28-year prosecutor, said he would seek an open seat on the court. Coletta has retained Gould, who also represents about a dozen other prospective candidates for open seats.
Coletta is a graduate of California State University, Los Angeles and Western State University School of Law. He is currently a calendar deputy in Compton and is a former president of the Italian American Lawyers Association.
•Erik O. Ibisi, a sole practitioner in the Westlake area near downtown Los Angeles, said he may run for an open seat. Ibisi, a State Bar member for 29 years, said he practices both civil and criminal law and has been a judge pro tem for 20 years.
“The county has been getting my services free for 20 years,” he explained, saying he feels ready to serve in a regular judicial capacity. He is a graduate of St. Thomas University in Miami and of Pepperdine University School of Law.
•Naser Khoury, a Van Nuys sole practitioner who announced his candidacy on Facebook a few months ago, said he remains interested in running for an open seat. A former deputy district attorney, he acknowledged the difficulty of running against a prosecutor but said he believes that in a “melting pot” like Los Angeles County, he can win by appealing to diverse ethnic communities.
He noted that he is himself a Jordanian immigrant.
Copyright 2016, Metropolitan News Company