NEWS
Up for Judgment
Two vie to become Humboldt’s next Superior Court judge By Thadeus Greenson thad@northcoastjournal.com
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our years after Humboldt County’s first contested judicial election in 20 years, we have another, with two candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Judge Christopher Wilson’s retirement. And seeing as an incumbent judge hasn’t faced a challenger locally in decades, whoever wins a seat on the bench in June seems likely to be there for a while. To become a superior court judge in California is to enter rarified air — after all, there are only 58 superior courts in the state, one in each county, though some have multiple courthouses. Judicial terms span six years, with vacancies filled through gubernatorial appointments, and judges wield a tremendous amount of discretion in their courtrooms, whether hearing civil or criminal cases. In civil cases — which include family law proceedings, probate cases, petitions for court orders and claims — a judge’s decision can determine whether a family stays together, how an estate is dispersed, what records are determined to be open to public view and who’s at fault in a given dispute. In criminal cases — which include felonies, misdemeanors and infractions, like traffic tickets — judges determine whether there is enough evidence to support a charge, what evidence will be admissible at trial, how a jury will be instructed on the law and, ultimately, what constitutes a just sentence for those found guilty. The two candidates looking to enter this fray are Ben McLaughlin and Steven Steward, both of whom have backgrounds in criminal law. Currently working as a deputy public defender, McLaughlin, 51, grew up in Palo Alto and has lived in Humboldt County for 15 years. After graduating from Vanderbilt University as a history major with an emphasis in Latin American history in 1994, McLaughlin received his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1999. He spent a stint in civil litigation before focusing on criminal law for much of the last 17 years, including seven years serving as a deputy district
attorney — prosecuting violent felonies — and five as a deputy public defender in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Steward, 42, meanwhile, grew up just outside Los Angeles and moved to Humboldt County in 1998 to attend Humboldt State University and pursue a degree in political science, before leaving the area to attend graduate school at San Francisco State University. Steward then moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for a member of Congress before attending law school at The Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, while working to provide legal services to indigent clients at a domestic violence clinic. After getting his law degree and returning to California, Steward spent seven years representing low-income defendants in criminal courts in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, before he and his family moved back to Humboldt County to raise children. Steward has worked as a deputy district attorney since 2017, prosecuting serious and violent crimes, as well as serving as the office’s lead environmental crimes prosecutor. In the lead up to the June 7 election, the Journal caught up with both candidates and asked them to answer a handful of questions about their backgrounds, perspectives and personalities. To view their full responses, visit www.northcoastjournal.com. (Spoiler alert, asked to name their favorite fictional judge, one candidate tapped Judge Chamberlain Haller from the movie My Cousin Vinny, while the other named Judge Smails from Caddyshack.) But here’s how the candidates weighed in on the more substantive questions. Asked about judge’s role in making Humboldt County a more just community, McLaughlin said it’s essential that judges treat all parties respectfully, with dignity, noting this is especially important in civil cases with litigants representing themselves in the process because they cannot afford counsel but who “have an absolute right to access the judicial process.” On the criminal side, he said it’s Continued on page 10» northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, May 26, 2022 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
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