Page 1
Judge Nishimoto to Hang Up Robe on Monday
Judicial Career, Starting With Judgeship on L.A. Municipal Court, Spans Four Decades
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Monday will be Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cary Nishimoto’s last day on the bench and, after using up earned vacation days, he will officially retire on July 10, ending a judicial career after 40 years and four days.
Nishimoto, 78, was appointed by Gov. George Deukmejian to the Los Angeles Municipal Court on July 6, 1984 and he was sworn in the same day. Deukmejian elevated him to the Superior Court on May 12, 1987, and he took the oath of office one week later.
The veteran jurist was up for reelection this year but made known in September that he would not be running. Two deputy district attorneys, Georgia Huerta and Steven Yee Mac, are in a November run-off to succeed him.
Nishimoto received his law degree in 1970 from San Diego’s California Western University. He was admitted to the State Bar on June 2, 1972.
At the time of his appointment to the bench, he was a sole practitioner. Prior to that, he was a Los Angeles deputy city attorney from 1973-82.
Last Dec. 12, Nishimoto upset a $107 million jury verdict against Union Carbide and others in an asbestos case by granting a for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial, declaring:
“It is without doubt that jurors were deprived of the deliberation process on certain issues. Substantive deliberations were precluded by one or more jurors whose command over other jurors suppressed individual initiative and expression. These incidents, individually or together as a group, constitute a denial of due process and warrant a new trial.”
Nishimoto on Oct. 21, 2015, created tense moments at the Torrance Courthouse when he brought a grenade there which he had found among the effects of a deceased relative and asked a deputy sheriff for assistance in disposing of it. The Sheriff’s Department Arson and Explosives Unit took charge and determined that the weapon was inert.
Copyright 2024, Metropolitan News Company