This week, Judge Dan Maguire received the endorsements of both the Davis Enterprise and Woodland Daily Democrat.
The Davis Enterprise writes, “Yolo County voters have the opportunity on June 5 to send a rousing vote of confidence to a well-respected member of the Yolo Superior Court bench: Judge Daniel Maguire.”
They continue: “Maguire, who was appointed to the Yolo judgeship in the fall of 2010, is being challenged by Deputy District Attorney Clint Parish. Although it’s rare for a sitting judge to face an election challenge, this campaign has given local voters the opportunity to get to know Maguire on a personal and professional level. We at The Enterprise are mightily impressed.”
They find Judge Maguire to have a “brilliant mind” as well as a “cool, calm, approachable demeanor.”
“After completing his education, he clerked for a federal appellate judge, preparing draft decisions on a wide variety of criminal and civil cases. More experience in civil law followed, where Maguire worked for both large and small firms. He also gained some criminal law experience as a prosecutor for the city of Lafayette, Colo,” the paper continues.
“In 2005, he gave up his private law practice in downtown Davis to work as a deputy legal affairs secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a position he held until his appointment to the bench in 2010.”
“Maguire says his judicial philosophy is simple: treat everyone in the courtroom fairly and with respect, approach each case with complete impartiality, and apply the law in every instance without hesitation,” they write. “We are pleased to add our voice to the chorus of those in the local legal community who are supporting Maguire for retention, and we urge our readers to do so as well.”
In a comment, Judge Tim Fall added, “The Enterprise has made an excellent choice. In fact, in this election the choice couldn’t be clearer. Judge Maguire is extremely well qualified and I look forward to serving with him for many years to come.”
On the other hand, the Daily Democrat argues, “It’s rare to find two qualified candidates seeking a Yolo County judgeship, but such is the position in which Yolo County voters find themselves on June 5, when they have to choose between incumbent Judge Dan Maguire or challenger Clint Parish.”
They add, “Although Parish comes from the prosecutorial side of our legal adversarial system, during recent forums he has demonstrated a depth of knowledge about the law, budgets and how justice can be administered. He has received the endorsement of Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, among others.”
Nevertheless, they think the better choice is to return Judge Maguire to the bench.
“Maguire was appointed to his position in late 2010 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now has nearly two years of experience serving locally,” they write. “He has also been endorsed by the entire bench of the Yolo Superior Court, with some of those same judges making monetary contributions to his campaign. He has also been endorsed by the Yolo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.”
“Beyond his experience, what we like about Maguire is his observation made during a recent Woodland League of Women Voters Forum that in small counties, judges need to be ‘generalists, not specialists.’ This is insightful in our opinion because it requires a great deal of flexibility on the part of judges to be not simply knowledgeable about the law, but the characteristics of the community as well,” they add.
They argue he has “a broader base of experience than Parish, not disrespecting the more than 1,000 cases Parish has prosecuted over the past 10 years.”
In short, they argue, “We respect Parish’s prosecutorial experience, but we feel a broader legal background is needed. Maguire has the experience on the bench and in law that make him our choice for judge.”
Two weeks ago, Judge Maguire also got the endorsement of the Yolo County Bar Association.
In a release: “More than 97% of voting members of the Yolo County Bar Association voted to endorse Judge Dan Maguire for retention on the Yolo County bench. The vote, which was conducted online, followed a March 23, 2012 candidate’s forum sponsored by the Bar Association.”
The Yolo County Bar Association is made up of attorneys who provide both public and private legal service in Yolo County. The Association includes judges, court support attorneys, public agency lawyers and private practitioners.
“Our members support Judge Maguire because he has proven to have the right judicial temperament, while being fair and accurate in applying the law,” said Association President Sarah Orr. “Our members overwhelmingly support his retention as a judge.”
Judge Maguire adds the endorsement to an already impressive list of endorsements that includes the recently announced Davis Police Officers Association, the Yolo County Deputy Sheriffs Association, Crime Victims Action Alliance and many other organizations, individuals, elected officials and community leaders.
Earlier, the Davis Police Officers Association had endorsed Judge Maguire, as the association’s President Ton Phan stated, “We believe you will do as you say in continuing to provide fair, honest and respectful justice to everyone who enters your courtroom.”
—David M. Greenwald reporting
I hope Judge Maguire wins by a landslide. I think humility is important. The opponent’s platform seems arrogant to me but that’s just my opinion. Good for the local media for making these endorsements!
Technichick – it’s not just you. To call Clinton “Clint” Parish’s platform “arrogant” is quite an understatement.
Only the connection Dan McGuire has with the Sue Greenwald attack ad instigators (exposed in the [i]Vanguard[/i] this week) will jeopardize the expected landslide.
Maguire’s support stems from his incumbency, and thereby his likely electoral success. The only thing that matters in a judge is integrity, and this is where Maguire falls short. He is apparently using Jim Burchill to manage his campaign, poor judgement there. Burchill has a commonly known history of questionable political activities… blocking the water and gravel mining signature gatherers, and the recent smear of Sue Greenwald to name a few.
Many of Maguire’s lawn signs are illegally posted, and many of the legally posted signs have a peculiarly strong correlation with the past lawn sign locations for Dave Rosenberg, the now presiding court judge. Are we to believe the Yolo Superior Court has any independence or integrity when it chooses sides in an election? What might this mean for someone who openly supported Mr. Parish and has to appear before one of his political supporters? These judges can’t even maintain the appearance of impartiality.
On top of all this, Maguire was appointed by the governor. That means he is more of a politcal person than a principled person, and that is a poor recommendation for a role that is supposed to be impartial.
Parish may well have these same shortcomings, but Parish did not rule that “false speech is protected speech.” Such a preposterous statement can only derive from political considerations, not impartiality or a “brilliant mind.” For these reasons, Maguire is not qualified to serve as a judge, regardless of the election returns.
“He is apparently using Jim Burchill to manage his campaign, poor judgement there”
Dan Maguire told me: “I have no connection whatsoever with Jim Burchill– I don’t even know who he is.”
He also said, “the reason my name appears on 1477 Drew is because my treasurer is Vic Bucher. Vic was Dave Rosenberg’s treasurer’s too, and I hired him on Dave’s recommendation.”
Vic Bucher told me that he had nothing to do with the mailer. In fact, it was someone in the same office, Jim McGowan who is the listed treasurer of that committee.
“but Parish did not rule that “false speech is protected speech.” Such a preposterous statement can only derive from political considerations, not impartiality or a “brilliant mind.””
Judge Maguire did not rule on the Measure C case. He was disqualified by Mr. Granda under a 170.6 motion and Judge McAdam ruled on it.
So as far as I can tell Mr. Pundit, none of your “facts” are accurate.
Anonymous Pundit:
The only thing that matters for a judge is integrity? After Parish’s grotesquely dishonest mailer this week, do you really want to talk about integrity? Talking about an apology to Maguire would be more appropriate.
Ron Lee
Davis