M. Marc Kelly
M. Marc Kelly is a judge of the Superior Court of Orange County in California. He assumed office in 2000. His current term ends on January 6, 2031.
Kelly won re-election for judge of the Superior Court of Orange County in California outright in the primary on March 5, 2024, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Biography
Kelly received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 and his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1987.[1] Kelly was a prosecutor at the Orange County District Attorney's Office from 1988 until his judicial appointment in 2000.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2024)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. M. Marc Kelly (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kelly in this election.
2018
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. M. Marc Kelly (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2012
- See also: California judicial elections, 2012
Kelly ran for re-election to the Orange County Superior Court in 2012. As an unopposed incumbent, his name did not appear on the ballot. After the primary election, Kelly was automatically re-elected.[3]
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]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
M. Marc Kelly did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
County officials call for judge to resign after reduced sentencing of child rapist
Orange County officials called for the resignation of Judge M. Marc Kelly for sentencing a convicted child rapist to less than the mandatory minimum prison term. Kevin Rojano-Nieto, 19, was convicted by a jury for sodomizing a 3-year-old girl. The crime carries a minimum 25-year prison sentence under California state law. Citing the defendant as "extremely remorseful" and adding that Rojano-Nieto did not fit the classic definition of a predator, Kelly stated in court transcripts that a prison term of 25 years would be "grossly disproportionate." Kelly also stated that the victim "appears to be a happy healthy child." In light of this, Kelly sentenced Rojano-Nieto to 10 years in prison, 15 years less than the mandatory minimum 25-year sentence under state law.
Kelly's decision ignited outrage among Orange County officials and citizens. On Thursday, April 9, three Orange County supervisors called on the judge to resign. By that same day, over 50,000 names were added to a petition calling for Kelly's resignation on Change.org, and a Facebook page titled "Remove Judge M. Marc Kelly From the Bench" received thousands of likes. The district attorney of Orange County, Tony Rackauckas, stated that he planned to appeal the sentencing.
Supervisors Lisa Bartlett and Todd Spitzer criticized the judge for breaking with the mandatory minimum sentence. Bartlett called Kelly's decision "an unconscionable ruling" by an "activist judge." Spitzer argued that Kelly had overstepped his judicial bounds by not following the mandatory minimum laws.[8]
To recall the judge, the petition would have to garner 90,000 signatures of registered Orange County voters within 120 days. Kelly would then have the choice to either resign or contest the recall. If the recall effort is successful, a special election would take place.[9]
On May 4, those leading the recall effort filed the official paperwork with the county's Registrar of Voters in order to begin the recall process. After providing the registrars office with a draft petition, the group would then need to collect 90,829 valid signatures within 160 days. If they are successful, an election date would be set, which would probably not occur until March 2016. Some lawyers have spoken out against the recall effort, saying that the case has been appealed, and the judicial process should be allowed to continue without the hindrance of politics. Paul Meyer, president of the Orange County Criminal Defense Bar Association, said, "The case is now on appeal. Why not wait for an appellate decision -- What if the appeal shows that Kelly was right?"[10]
Recall attempt
An effort to recall M. Marc Kelly from his position as judge on the Orange County Superior Court in California was launched on May 1, 2015.[11]
For details, click here.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ University of Notre Dame Athletics, "Hon. Marc Kelly," accessed April 13, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Amid firestorm of anger in molester case, support for O.C. judge grows," April 22, 2015
- ↑ Orange County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate Handbook," accessed April 10, 2015 Scroll to pages 31-32
- ↑ 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
- ↑ L.A. Times, "O.C. judge who gave child molester reduced sentence is asked to resign," April 9, 2015
- ↑ Orange County Register, "Pressure mounts on O.C. judge over sentence; county supervisors say they're planning a recall," April 10, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Official attempt underway to recall O.C. Superior Court judge," May 4, 2015
- ↑ Orange County Register, "Victims' advocates serve petition to start process to recall O.C. Judge M. Marc Kelly," May 1, 2015
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
