Luke v. Superior Court

Opinion

ASHBY, Acting P. J.

Petitioner Luke and real party Jones are opposing candidates for an open seat on the Los Angeles Superior Court. Luke, a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge, seeks to bar Jones, a Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner, from using the title “Judge, Los Angeles County (Acting)” as an occupational designation on the sample ballot for the June 7, 1988, consolidated primary election. We grant the petition.

[1362]

Elections Code section 10211, subdivision (a),

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permits a candidate for judicial office to submit to the registrar (in the case of a county office) or the Secretary of State (in the case of a state office) a proposed ballot designation describing the candidate’s occupation. Nonincumbents may utilize either subdivision (a)(1) [“Words designating the elective city, county, district, state, or federal office which the candidate holds at the time of filing the nomination papers to which he or she was elected by vote of the people, or to which he or she was appointed, in the case of a superior, municipal, or justice court judge.”] or subdivision (a)(3) [“No more than three words designating the principal professions, vocations, or occupations of the candidate.”]. “Creative” uses of these subsections are impeded by subdivision (b)(1), which prohibits the Secretary of State or any other election official from accepting a ballot designation which would mislead the voter. The designation “Judge-Los Angeles County (Acting)” is neither the title of the office which Commissioner Jones presently holds (subdivision (a)(1)), nor an accurate description of her occupation (subdivision (a)(3)).

Commissioner Jones apparently elected to forego subdivision (a)(1), which would have required her to use the title “Superior Court Commissioner” or some acceptable variation thereof, and proceed under subdivision (a)(3), which permits a descriptive title of three words or less. Commissioner Jones accepted the ballot designation “Judge-Los Angeles County (Acting)” after the Secretary of State properly rejected her first two choices, “Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court” and “Judge-Pro Tem, Superior Court.”

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When the news of Commissioner Jones’s proposed ballot designation reached Judge Luke, he petitioned the respondent court for a writ of mandate ordering the Secretary of State to disallow the designation because it was misleading. After a lively hearing at which the court, without success, attempted to strike a compromise, the court ruled that the designation was not misleading and that Commissioner Jones would suffer more prejudice from having to designate herself as a “Commissioner” (a term unfamiliar to the community at large) than Judge Luke would suffer if Commissioner Jones were permitted to use her proposed designation of “Judge-Los Angeles County (Acting).”