Cory Woodward
Cory Woodward was a judge for the Superior Court of Kern County in California. He was appointed to the court by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in December 2006 to succeed John Quinlen. Woodward was re-elected in 2008.
Woodward initially ran for re-election again, advancing from the primary election on June 7, 2016. In October 2016, however, he announced he would retire from the court to pursue a position with the Office of Inspector General in Bakersfield. His name still appeared on the ballot, but his challenger Tiffany Organ-Bowles defeated him in the general election.[1][2][3]
Biography
Woodward received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Prior to his appointment as judge, Woodward served in the following positions:[2]
- 2003-2006: Court commissioner, Superior Court of Kern County
- 1987-2003: Prosecutor, Kern County District Attorney's Office
Elections
2016
California held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. There was a primary on June 7, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 31, 2016. A total of 351 seats were up for election. Tiffany Organ-Bowles defeated incumbent Cory Woodward in the election for Office 34 of the Kern County Superior Court.
| Kern County Superior Court Judge, Office #34 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Tiffany Organ-Bowles |
60.29% | 92,056 |
| Cory Woodward Incumbent | 39.71% | 60,624 |
| Total Votes | 152,680 | |
| Source: Kern County, "2016 Unofficial General Election Results," accessed November 11, 2016 | ||
Woodward and Tiffany Organ-Bowles defeated J. Arturo Revelo in the primary election on June 7, 2016.
| Kern County Superior Court Judge, Office #34, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Cory Woodward Incumbent |
43.07% | 33,327 |
| Tiffany Organ-Bowles |
40.50% | 31,340 |
| J. Arturo Revelo | 16.43% | 12,711 |
| Total Votes | 77,378 | |
| Source: Kern County Registrar of Voters, "Unofficial election results," accessed June 8, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[4][5][6][7]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[4]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[4]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[4]
Noteworthy events
Woodward censured by the California Commission on Judicial Performance
On September 2, 2014, the California Commission on Judicial Performance censured Woodward for having intimate relations with his courtroom clerk and for his refusal to have her reassigned. Commission findings conclude that Woodward had sex with his clerk, a married woman, in both his judicial chambers and in public places, exchanged personal emails with the clerk on court computers, passed notes of a sexual nature to the clerk during court proceedings, and allowed the clerk to address him in an overly familiar manner.[8][9]
The Commission concluded that not only was Woodward's intimate relationship with his court clerk a violation of the California Code of Judicial Ethics, but that his efforts to mislead the court administration and his superior judicial officers regarding the need to reassign the clerk was just as egregious.[8]
However, the Commission decided to publicly censure Woodward instead of removing him from the bench. In coming to this determination, the Commission cited Woodward's cooperation with their investigation, his acknowledgement of wrongdoing, his expression of great remorse, and his reputation among his colleagues as a hardworking, conscientious, and intelligent judge.[8][9]
The complete order imposing the censure can be read below.
| Commission on Judicial Performance - Decision and Order Imposing Censure. |
See also
External links
- The Superior Court of California, "Superior Court of Kern County"
- California Courts.gov, "Trial Court Roster"
Footnotes
- ↑ California Courts.gov, "Trial Courts Roster," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Bakersfield Californian, "New judge appointed to county court," December 23, 2006
- ↑ Kern Golden Empire.com, "Race for county judge gets a bit complicated," October 11, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 State of California Commission on Judicial Performance, "In the matter concerning Judge Cory Woodward: Decision and order imposing censure," accessed October 22, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Los Angeles Times.com, "Two judges censured after admitting having sex with women in chambers," September 2, 2014
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California