This June, Yolo County voters have a somewhat rare opportunity to select our next judge. I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support my friend and judicial colleague Ryan Davis to be our next judge.
Ryan has served as a Sacramento County Court Commissioner since May 2023. Court commissioners for the most part do the exact same job as superior court judges. Ryan serves side by side with me and other superior court judges and hears the same types of cases we do. He wears a robe, hears and decides cases, and issues orders. Commissioners are hired by the court rather than being appointed by the Governor or elected by the voters. That meant that Ryan was vetted through a rigorous screening and interview process before a small committee of judges before being voted on by the full Sacramento bench.
On paper, I was immediately impressed by Ryan and his credentials. However, Ryan was even more impressive in person. Ryan first began hearing traffic, small claims, and unlawful detainer cases. He then moved over to his current family law assignment in January 2024 and sits in the courtroom right next to mine. He immediately picked up the subject matter, an area of the law outside of his past practice. This was not surprising as his resume revealed his intelligence and intellectual curiosity.
As the Supervising Family Law Judge, I occasionally watch other judicial officers preside over their hearings. Ryan’s true value was soon revealed after I observed him preside over cases and talked to him more about our family law assignment. I can state with full confidence, and without exaggeration, that Ryan embodies the best qualities of a judicial officer. He is smart, hard-working, diligent, and efficient. He listens to not just hear but to learn and understand. He is understanding of people’s problems and concerns but also firm. He is decisive but open-minded and fair. He asks questions, tries to solve problems, and makes the hard calls when the litigants before him cannot reach their own solution. And, most importantly, he is thoughtful, cares about the decisions he makes, and ensures everyone is provided due process in his courtroom. The longer I serve as a judge, the more I have come to believe in the critical importance of judicial temperament.
Family law is a high-volume assignment, meaning Ryan hears many cases in a single morning. Sitting through highly emotional and sometimes legally complex matters while maintaining judicial decorum, listening carefully, and rendering fair decisions is not always easy. It can try the most patient among us. But Ryan both moves a high volume calendar efficiently while ensuring that people understand that their case matters.
Ryan has a fundamental sense of fairness, which benefits everyone in the courtroom, whether attorneys, litigants, or witnesses. He cares about the impacts of the decisions he makes and understands and thinks deeply about the immediate consequences his decisions will have on other people’s lives. He researches the law and makes difficult decisions when the law and facts require it.
Ryan will easily move into any new assignment and excel, no matter the area. He has already participated in the training required of all new judges. While Ryan has many years of experience in criminal law, he also gained valuable civil experience as a Deputy Attorney General, and quickly learned other areas of civil law as a Court Commissioner, including family, unlawful detainer, traffic, and small claims. He is continually learning, interested in teaching others, and has taught law school classes at both UC Davis and Berkeley. And after being appointed by the Chief Justice of California, Ryan also serves on the statewide Judicial Council.
Our court system has many functions. While we tend to hear more about the highly publicized criminal trials, courts also serve to civilly and peacefully resolve disputes when they cannot be resolved outside of court. When a will goes through probate, when a contract is not being complied with, when a parent wants child support, and when an injured person seeks compensation, the public looks to judges for justice. Whether the assignment is criminal, civil, or family, the candidate who is ready to immediately step into this job is Ryan Davis. In fact, he is already doing the job..
Each work day, Ryan drives back to his home in Yolo County. He grew up in Yolo County, attended local public schools, and is raising his family here. Ryan’s extended family, whose members are deeply rooted in public service, also lives in Yolo County. Ryan knows and loves this county.
Losing Ryan as a colleague will be a big professional loss for me, as well as a personal one. In addition to all of the qualities that make Ryan an excellent bench officer, he is also a genuinely kind and thoughtful person. But losing Ryan as a colleague in Sacramento will be Yolo County’s gain, and I cannot think of a better person to be our county’s next judge than Ryan Davis.
Kara Ueda is a Davis resident and a Sacramento County Judge
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