SF Judge Candidates Highlight Their Experience

Barred from taking stances on controversial issues as they vie for a judgeship, the three lawyers seeking a seat on the San Francisco Superior Court are instead highlighting their legal experiences.

The judicial contest is for the local court's Seat 7, which had been held by Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith until his retirement last month. If none of the three candidates secures 50 percent plus one of the vote in the June 7 primary, then the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November.

Picking up momentum in recent days has been Victor M. Hwang, a former San Francisco assistant district attorney who prosecuted hate crimes and is now in private practice. In late April the Judiciary Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco announced that it had deemed Hwang, 48, as "exceptionally well-qualified" to be a judge.

In an email touting the rating, Hwang noted it was the first time in 20 years that the local legal group had given its highest rating to a judicial candidate.

Both Paul Henderson, a gay man who is Mayor Ed Lee's deputy chief of staff and director of public safety, and Sigrid Irias, a trial attorney who also worked for several years as a Catholic schoolteacher, received "well-qualified" ratings from the local bar. All three had applied through Governor Jerry Brown's office to be appointed to a judicial vacancy but heard no word on their applications.

This week the San Francisco Chronicle endorsed Hwang. Noting that its decision was "a close call" among the three candidates, the newspaper determined that Hwang "has the edge thanks to his experience and qualifications."

It is an argument Hwang has been making since entering the race earlier this year.

"I never worked in a policy position or at a large law firm. I was in the courtroom every week," Hwang said during a candidate forum last month sponsored by the local bar association.

The University of Southern California School of Law graduate began his career as a deputy public defender in East Los Angeles. He then joined the Asian Law Caucus in 1996, working on a number of high profile cases, including a federal lawsuit accusing the Rohnert Park police of killing a Chinese American based on a martial arts stereotype and the defense of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, the Taiwanese American scientist accused of espionage.

Hwang then went to work with Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach before joining the San Francisco DA's office, where he focused on human trafficking and sexual assault cases as well as hate crimes. Currently, he is back with APILO as its deputy director and serves on the city's police commission.

"I was a people's lawyer. I want to be the people's judge," said Hwang, who after the election plans to marry his partner he has three children with, Ivy Lee, who is Supervisor Jane Kim's chief of staff.

Henderson, 48, who also works as a TV legal analyst, is endorsed by Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, the LGBT legal group, and the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. He also picked up the endorsement of the San Francisco Democratic Party.

Henderson is a San Francisco native who grew up in the Bayview and his mother was a public defender. He graduated from Tulane Law School, where he was homeless for a time and slept in his car.

He first joined the DA's office in 1995, and on his first day as a prosecutor, Henderson recalled being mistaken by a judge as a defendant rather than a lawyer after he walked into the courtroom.

"The judge told me I had to leave and to wait until my lawyer came in to talk to me. He also said, 'By the way, you are at the DA's table.' It wasn't a moment of shame for me or embarrassment," said Henderson, who instead took inspiration from the encounter to work on changing people's perceptions about black men.

He worked his way up to become the highest-ranking LGBT person and African-American male in the DA's office, serving as chief of administration under former DA Kamala Harris. When she was elected in 2010 as the state's attorney general, he openly campaigned to be named her replacement.

Former Mayor Gavin Newsom instead chose the city's then-police chief, George Gasc�n, and Henderson went to work for Lee, who had been named by the Board of Supervisors to replace Newsom after he became the state's lieutenant governor. Henderson also announced he would not run against Gasc�n that fall to be DA.

If elected, he would be the first LGBT African-American to serve on the local court.

"I believe my voice and presence should be heard managing a courtroom," said Henderson, who has served as a pro-tem superior court bench officer resolving criminal cases and heard civil appellate cases as a hearing officer for the Alameda County Superior Court.

Irias, 54, is also a native San Franciscan who graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law. A past president of the La Raza Lawyers Association - her family is Nicaraguan American - Irias has the endorsement of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.

Her legal experience runs the gamut from medical malpractice litigation to probate cases, though unlike her two opponents, she has never tried a felony case.

"I have had some exposure to criminal cases," Irias told the Bay Area Reporter. "I am not so arrogant to say I wouldn't need to study up. I have shown flexibility in the past. I am not intimidated by dealing with criminal cases."

In addition to her three decades of practicing law in the city, Irias has also served as a pro-tem judge handling small claims, traffic and juvenile cases for the San Francisco Superior Court since 2014.

"I believe I will be a real asset to the court," Irias, the mother of three children, said during the BASF candidate forum.