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Tari L. Cody↗

Presiding Justice, Division 6 (Ventura)
Remainder of predecessor's termExceptionally Well QualifiedTrellis trial record

Former 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.

Trellis profile ↗
On your ballot. Vote Yes or No on keeping Tari L. Cody on the court (remainder of predecessor's term). Appears on ballots in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

Qualifications

Appointment. Appointed by Gov. Newsom, 2023; Presiding Justice 2026.
Outside rating. Exceptionally Well Qualified
From the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, given before 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. Civil litigator representing government agencies and water districts. Ventura County Superior Court judge 2000 to 2023, including supervising juvenile judge.

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

Mostly heard debt collection cases. Granted motions at about the same rate as other judges in the state, and cases took longer than the state 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: 54.3%
State avg: 54.8%
Average case length
This judge: 2,062 days
State avg: 651 days
Time to trial
This judge: 385 days
State avg: 531 days
Caseload mix
Creditor 79.5%, Commercial 8.7%, Torts 8.3%
Granted motions by filing side
80.7% filed by plaintiffs, 19.3% by defendants
Motion typeGrantedRulingsCounty avg
Demurrer53.6%87n/a
Summary judgment44.2%83n/a
Shown against state averages only: Trellis currently benchmarks her against LA County, but she served in Ventura.
Ventura County Superior Court · 10,078 docketsUpdated 2026-10-02 · Full profile →
Sample rulings from the trial bench
  • EmploymentServer v. Old Town Cafe (2013-10-15)Motion denied A restaurant server claimed discrimination, harassment and missed meal breaks. The cafe argued it did not know she worked there because she was paid in cash. The judge rejected that, reasoning employers know who they pay, and let all claims proceed. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
  • Government & public agenciesDetainee v. County of Ventura (2014-03-26)Split decision A woman said the County and Sheriff denied her needed medical care in custody. The judge dismissed most claims under government immunity rules, but let a federal civil rights claim alleging a pattern of denying care go forward. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
  • Injury & safetyMotorcyclist v. City of Simi Valley (2014-02-03)Split decision An injured motorcyclist said an intersection was dangerously designed. The judge refused to end that claim because the City hadn't shown the design met engineering standards and the experts disagreed. Read the ruling on Trellis ›
Sources: Daily Journal

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.