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Michelle C. Kim↗
Associate Justice, Division 1
First retention voteExceptionally Well Qualified (State Bar, 2024)Trellis trial record
About 15 years as an LA County public defender; LA civil trial judge 2018 to 2024. Upheld the law letting childhood sexual abuse survivors sue school districts.
On your ballot. Vote Yes or No on keeping Michelle C. Kim on the court (first retention vote). Appears on ballots in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Qualifications
Appointment. Appointed by Gov. Newsom, 2024.
Outside rating. Exceptionally Well Qualified
From the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, given before the 2024 appointment. This is the commission's assessment, not Trellis's. It was made for the appointment, not for this election; we found no bar rating issued for this retention vote.
Before the bench. About 15 years as an LA County public defender and alternate public defender. LA Superior Court judge 2018 to 2024 (civil).
Conduct
No public discipline or controversies found.
What others recommend
- YesIndivisible Marin (Yes on all California justices) (progressive group)
- YesSouthern California Appellate News (legal blog) (legal community)
- NoCraig Huey voter guide (conservative guide)
- NoLos Angeles County Republican Party (Republican Party)
In this district, we found published positions mainly from conservative and Republican groups. Most Democratic, progressive and newspaper groups here had not published positions on these justices as of October 16.
Robyn Nordell's conservative guide repeats Craig Huey's picks, so it is not listed separately.
Trellis does not make recommendations. These are positions published by outside groups as of October 16, 2026. Labels describe each group's general leaning.
Notable rulings
- Government & public agenciesDreher v. LADWP (2025). Upheld LA's tiered water rates (rates must be proportional, not exact). Conflicts with a San Diego ruling; now under Supreme Court review. (authorship per news reports) Read the opinion ›
- Injury & safetyO.B. v. LAUSD (2025). Upheld the law reviving old childhood sexual abuse claims against public agencies, letting survivors sue school districts.
From the trial court record
Mostly heard injury and civil-harm cases. Granted motions somewhat less often than the county average, and cases took longer than the county average, which usually reflects the kind of cases assigned.
Their trial court record, compared with other judges in the county
Bars compare this judge with county and state averages. Differences usually reflect the kinds of cases a judge was assigned.
Motions granted
Average case length
Time to trial
Caseload mix
Torts 82.1%, Commercial 5.8%, Labor & Employment 5.4%
Granted motions by filing side
16.7% filed by plaintiffs, 83.3% by defendants
| Motion type | Granted | Rulings | County avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continue trial | 68.5% | 213 | 72.5% |
| Compel discovery | 72.2% | 79 | 74.0% |
| Summary judgment | 35.4% | 56 | 43.1% |
LA County Superior Court · 1,337 docketsUpdated 2026-10-02 · Full profile →
Sample rulings from the trial bench
- Government & public agenciesCyclist v. City of Los Angeles (2024-05-02)Motion denied A cyclist who slid on algae-covered water in a street sued Los Angeles, saying city water had flowed there for years. The judge refused to dismiss: the city showed it didn't own the pipe or street, but never addressed who controlled the water. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
- Injury & safetyWorker v. Housing Authority of the City of LA (2023-12-08)Motion granted A contractor's worker who fell in a Jordan Downs elevator shaft sued the Housing Authority. The judge dismissed the complaint but allowed a rewrite: owners generally aren't liable to contractors' workers unless they controlled the work or hid hazards. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
Sources: Daily Journal
Others on the same ballot
- Gregory J. WeingartFormer federal prosecutor and Major Frauds chief, then Munger Tolles partner; LA family law judge 2017 to 2022. Cut $1.3 billion from a family real estate judgment.
- Anne K. RichardsonAbout 20 years as a civil rights lawyer, then Public Counsel directing attorney; LA trial judge 2018 to 2024. Ruled defamation litigants cannot use fake names by agreement.
- Stephen I. GoorvitchFormer federal prosecutor, SEC attorney and teacher; LA trial judge 2015 to 2026, where he ruled LAUSD violated Prop 39 by barring charter schools from campuses.
- Rashida A. AdamsFormer employment and whistleblower lawyer and Court of Appeal research attorney; LA juvenile dependency judge 2017 to 2023. Dissented on lemon-law buybacks conditioned on confidentiality.
- Mark K. HanasonoFormer LA County public defender who handled capital cases; LA trial judge 2013 to 2025, mostly criminal. Appointed 2025; no widely reported appellate rulings yet.
- Helen ZukinAbout 30 years as a plaintiffs' lawyer in toxic tort and drug cases; LA trial judge 2018 to 2023. Struck USC's employee arbitration agreement as one-sided.
- Nicholas F. DaumFormer litigator in media, entertainment and appeals; LA trial judge 2022 to 2026, where he ordered Kanye West to pay a former employee's legal fees.
- Audra M. MoriFormer intellectual property litigator and Perkins Coie LA managing partner; LA trial judge 2018 to 2023. Ruled the County Assessor illegally raised taxes on rebuilt homes.
- Armen TamzarianFormer business litigator; LA trial judge 2013 to 2025 with about 100 trials. Upheld a gag order on Microsoft about an LAPD email warrant.
- Brian M. HoffstadtFormer federal prosecutor and U.S. Supreme Court clerk; author of a criminal discovery treatise. In 2024 publicly criticized a Supreme Court decision reversing one of his opinions.
- Tari L. CodyFormer civil litigator for public agencies; Ventura trial judge 2000 to 2023. First California ruling treating surfing collisions as an inherent risk; upheld large-capacity magazine bans.
- Kenneth R. YeganFormer public defender; on the Court of Appeal for 36 years. His 2025 opinion upholding a conviction despite a prosecutor's racially charged language drew criticism.
- Gonzalo C. MartinezFormer appellate partner and deputy solicitor general; never a trial judge. Upheld LA's rule barring evictions of tenants owing less than one month's rent.
- Natalie P. StoneFormer Munger Tolles lawyer and food bank fundraiser co-founder; LA juvenile and criminal judge 2015 to 2024. Largely upheld Pasadena's voter-approved rent control.
- John Shepard Wiley Jr.Former UCLA law professor for 22 years and federal prosecutor; LA trial judge 2002 to 2018. Argued in a concurrence that Amazon should be liable for third-party products.
- Matthew A. ScherbFormer Winston & Strawn litigator, LA deputy city attorney and appellate staff attorney; never a trial judge. Appointed 2025; no widely reported rulings yet.
- Victor G. ViramontesFormer teacher and MALDEF senior counsel who won Dreamers' driver's licenses in Arizona; LA Children's Court judge 2017 to 2022. Upheld a $1 million bullying verdict.