Next up in our coverage of the race for Superior Court Judge, Office No. 12 is Debra Carrillo.  Ms. Carrillo has a long history of working in the legal community.  At a much younger age, Debra was also a police officer for the City of Laguna Beach.

As of the March 17 financial report, Debra raised $5,350 and loaned her campaign $50,099.  By far this is the largest personal loan for a candidate in this race.  Like all of her opponents, Debra spent $23,562 with the bulk of the expenditures going to the Registrar of Voters' Office for filing fee and candidate statement.  Her cash on hand is $31,886.

A registered Democrat, Debra Carrillo is officially supported by the Democratic Party of Orange County.  However, she has also earned the endorsement of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, a registered Republican.  That alone tells me that Carrillo is a bi-partisan attorney.

The Debra Carrillo for Judge campaign is managed by Chris Jones.  Chris was a chief of staff to then-Senator John Lewis and is now a self-employed political consultant since 1999.

When I asked why the voters of Orange County should elect her as Judge, Debra responded:

Of the four, I am the only candidate with substantial experience in all major areas of the law.  I worked as an associate on complex civil litigation for nearly four years.  Orange County courts' sophisticated civil calendars dictate that the judges presiding over these cases have civil law experience.  Many judges whose only background is in criminal prosecution are ill-equipped to handle such cases.  I am the only candidate who was a sworn police officer for several years, working at the front line of justice.  I also served as a courtroom bailiff, observing trial after trial.  I saw the best actions of judges, and the worst.  I was elected SBA President, was on the Law Review, was published, and earned a full tuition scholarship at the University of San Diego.

As an attorney, I teach Advanced Trial Advocacy, covering all phases of trial, to attorneys in many fields, not just to fellow deputy district attorneys.  In my current assignment, as a deputy district attorney IV, I am assigned to the White Collar Crime Task force.  I prosecute major fraud:  losses over $100,000.  By seizure of assets and diligent prosecution, I have returned over half a million dollars directly to aggrieved victims in the past two years, in addition to millions more that was ordered to be returned. Prior to becoming a Deputy District Attorney, I was a criminal trial litigator.  In my 22-year legal career, I have tried over 100 jury trials to verdict.  In my race, one of the candidates has criminal prosecution experience only and two of the candidates have civil law experience only.  Orange County Superior Court calendar is comprised of more than two thirds criminal cases.  The best background for a judge to handle criminal cases is prior experience advocating from both sides of the counsel table.  I am the only candidate in the race for Office No. 12 with such experience.   For objective coverage on the specifics of this judicial race, see the series of articles written by Frank Mickadeit in the Orange County Register.  My entire career has prepared me for the position of Orange County Superior Court Judge.  I also recognize that the position I currently hold and the position I seek both call for scrupulous honesty.  I am the most qualified in my race.

On who is her favorite Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court:

Justice Anthony Kennedy.  He is thoughtful, non-ideological and considers each case on its merits.

On her area of legal expertise:

My area of legal expertise is criminal prosecution.  In my current assignment, I prosecute felonies in the area of White Collar Crime:  high dollar amount grand theft, embezzlements, ID theft, credit card theft, and elder financial abuse.

On which legal or law enforcement experience was the most rewarding for her:

Working as a street cop is extremely gratifying because you are rescuing people in actual, physical danger, or, arresting the perpetrators of such harm to law-abiding citizens.  You truly serve your community.  Working as a deputy marshal was personally rewarding because it was an education in the living law of the courtroom.  Without that experience, I never would have become a lawyer.  As a deputy public defender, you are an essential thread in the fabric of American law:  without the criminal defense attorney, our justice system would be a sham:  The greatness of America lies in equal justice for all.  One of the most rewarding moments from my public defender career came years later.  Just a month or so ago, I was approached by a young woman at South Coast Plaza, who recognized me as her former attorney.  She was falsely accused of assault and battery on the live-in father of her child.  After we fought hard and the case was dismissed, we parted ways.  When she approached me, she told me that she often thought of me and that I inspired her to work hard and earn her degree at UC Irvine in Criminology, Law & Society.  She is currently applying to law schools.  To me, that sort of unintended influence is priceless.  Finally, as a deputy district attorney, I shepherd victims through the system to convict the criminals who harm them.  Getting those criminals off the streets where they could continue harming more people is unbelievably rewarding.  I must say that there is nothing more rewarding than serving public safety and helping the victims of crimes.

On which other candidate will make it with her to the November run-off:

It will probably be the two deputy district attorneys, as the public holds prosecutors in high esteem and voters tend to put public safety first in their election decisions.

Mike Flory is the other deputy district attorney.

On how much money she will need to make the November run-off:

Approximately $100,000

There are four candidates in this race: Mike Flory, KC Jones, Debra Carrillo and Kermit Marsh.  Convention wisdom dictates that Flory and Carrillo have an advantage in this race because of their "Deputy District Attorney" ballot title but that's not something KC Jones and Kermit Marsh can't overcome with more money.

For more information on the Debra Carrillo for Judge campaign, please visit her website at www.debracarrillo.com.

You can read my profile of Flory and Jones by click here and here.