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Nicholas F. Daum↗

Associate Justice, Division 4
First retention voteExceptionally Well Qualified (State Bar, 2026)Trellis trial record

Former 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.

Trellis profile ↗
On your ballot. Vote Yes or No on keeping Nicholas F. Daum 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, 2026.
Outside rating. Exceptionally Well Qualified
From the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, given before the 2026 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. Litigator at Susman Godfrey and Kendall Brill & Kelly (media and entertainment cases, appeals, pro bono voting rights). LA Superior Court judge 2022 to 2026.

Conduct

No public discipline or controversies found.

What others recommend

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

From the trial court record

Heard a mix of cases, most often injury and civil-harm cases (27%). Granted motions at about the same rate as other judges in the county, 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
This judge: 52.3%
County avg: 54.4%
State avg: 54.8%
Average case length
This judge: 984 days
County avg: 545 days
State avg: 651 days
Time to trial
This judge: 756 days
County avg: 565 days
State avg: 531 days
Caseload mix
Torts 27.3%, Creditor 23.8%, Commercial 15.0%
Granted motions by filing side
45.5% filed by plaintiffs, 54.5% by defendants
Short tenure; motion samples are small (14 or fewer per type), so individual motion rates are not shown.
LA County Superior Court · 845 docketsUpdated 2026-10-02 · Full profile →
Sample rulings from the trial bench
  • Injury & safetyStudent v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2025-09-10)Motion granted A student under 14 who says LAUSD staff failed to stop repeated assaults by another student asked for an early trial. The judge granted it because state law makes trial priority mandatory for injured children under 14. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
  • Government & public agenciesResident v. City of Los Angeles (2026-02-18)Motion granted A man suing over an allegedly baseless prosecution named the City and LAPD. The judge dismissed with leave to amend because he never filed the required government claim, and dropped LAPD because it is part of the City. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
Sources: Court bio

Others on the same ballot

  • Michelle C. KimAbout 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.