Policy Positions
— May 25, 2018 solis4judge.com
A short introduction to niki solis' canddiacy for Superior Court Judge
San Francisco County Superior Court - Judge, Office 11
Judge, Office 11 — San Francisco County Superior Court
Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the Judge, Office 11 — San Francisco County Superior Court
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
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About this office
Superior court judges preside over trial court cases, both civil and criminal. They hear witnesses' testimony and other evidence and decide cases by applying the law to the relevant facts.
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Candidates
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Niki Judith Solis
Attorney
Top 3 Priorities
- Bail Reform and Criminal Justice Reform
- Addressing recidivism and the spike in crimes such...
- Address implicit bias & the disproportionate outcomes...
Profile
Endorsed by
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Jeff Adachi, Public DefenderSan Francisco Bay GuardianEquality California (EQCA)Bernal Heights Democratic ClubNew Avenues Democratic ClubBlack Young DemocratsLatino/a Young Democrats of San FranciscoSEIU 1021San Francisco Tenants UnionD.11 Democratic ClubD.8 Democratic ClubLatino Democratic ClubMark Leno - Former California State Senator, SF Mayoral candidateFormer Mayor, Art AgnosMyrna Melgar - SF Planning CommissionerDean Preston - Founder, Tenants Together; Candidate for D5 SupervisorHoney Mahogany - Member, DCCC & TGI Justice ProjectBevan Dufty - BART Board of Directors, District 9Hillary Ronen - SF Board of Supervisors, District 9Lateefah Simon, BART Board of DirectorsRafael Mandelman - SF City College Board, Candidate for D8 Supervisor
Jeffrey S. Ross
Judge, San Francisco Superior Court
Top 3 Priorities
- A greater level of transparency within the legal system.
- Efficiency to save scarce resources and to save money...
- Continuing to create an environment in my courtroom...
Profile
Endorsed by
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City and County of San Francisco Public Defender's Office, Attorney
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My Top 3 Priorities
- Bail Reform and Criminal Justice Reform
- Addressing recidivism and the spike in crimes such as auto burglaries by addressing root causes.
- Address implicit bias & the disproportionate outcomes in our juvenile system & adult courts .
Experience
Experience
Profession:Attorney
Deputy Public Defender, City & County of San Francisco (1996–current)
Education
U.C. Hastings — Juris Doctorate, Law (1995)
Community Activities
President, board member, and member, SF La Raza Lawyers Association (1998–current)
Vice president, member, Fairmount Elementary PTA (2012–2016)
Who supports this candidate?
Featured Endorsements
- Jeff Adachi, Public Defender
Organizations (12)
- San Francisco Bay Guardian
- Equality California (EQCA)
- Bernal Heights Democratic Club
- New Avenues Democratic Club
- Black Young Democrats
- Latino/a Young Democrats of San Francisco
- SEIU 1021
- San Francisco Tenants Union
- D.11 Democratic Club
- D.8 Democratic Club
- Latino Democratic Club
Elected Officials (2)
- Mark Leno - Former California State Senator, SF Mayoral candidate
- Former Mayor, Art Agnos
Individuals (7)
- Myrna Melgar - SF Planning Commissioner
- Dean Preston - Founder, Tenants Together; Candidate for D5 Supervisor
- Honey Mahogany - Member, DCCC & TGI Justice Project
- Bevan Dufty - BART Board of Directors, District 9
- Hillary Ronen - SF Board of Supervisors, District 9
- Lateefah Simon, BART Board of Directors
- Rafael Mandelman - SF City College Board, Candidate for D8 Supervisor
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters of San Francisco (2)
What do you view as the biggest challenge in the justice system?
Answer from Niki Judith Solis:
In this era, it is the judiciary that will be relied upon to uphold the law when the White House and other branches of government fail us. In San Francisco, we are badly in need of reform in our criminal justice system. We have a problem with disproportionate incarceration of people of color. We have a money for bail system that preys upon the poor.
Even worse is that the disproportionate confinement of people of color is coupled with little or no representation of African Americans in the jury pools. African Americans make up less than 4% of the San Francisco population, but comprise more than 50% of those incarcerated. One study showed that over the course of a year, of the 285,000+ beds occupied in the county jail here in San Francisco, more than 55% were filled by African Americans. This is a problem that the judiciary is not adequately addressing. My black sons are 7 times more likely to be arrested and 10 times more likely to be convicted of a crime simply based on the color of their skin.
I walk into holding tanks and on a regular basis, 12 out of 14 men are African American or Latino. The racial disparity is stark. In one of my recent trial cases, out of 150 prospective jurors, 1 was African American and 1 was a Latino man. Not enough is being done by the courts to reach out to communities to encourage participation in the jury process. Not enough is done to address the racial disparity in incarceration rates. This makes for a terrible combination that will result in even more incarceration of men of color. Studies show that conviction rates go up exponentially when there is no African American on the jury. There is an intransigence in the court and they appear to be in denial of compelling empirical evidence. The courts have to protect our rights. We need judges who will address these issues and will apply the law equally. If elected judge, I would devote my time to remedying the inequities that continue to pervade our criminal justice system.
One of the major hurdles to addressing these problems is that no one seems to be talking about it. I do not see judges having public forums or grand juries being empaneled on these issues. There have been African Americans appointed to the bench, but in the past 40 years, only ONE public defender has been appointed from our office to the San Francisco bench. Simply put, the bench is not representative of the community that comes before it each and every day. I would likely be the first formerly undocumented person to serve on the bench here in San Francisco.
What experience or qualifications do you have that make you well suited for this role?
Answer from Niki Judith Solis:
I have been a public defender for 22 years, having stood side by side with people from all walks of life , including children, defending their civil and constitutional rights. I have tried over 50 cases, and have been found "well qualified" by the independent review of the Bar Association’s judicial committee’s review (meaning that I have all the attributes of a qualified person AND that I also “possess one or more of those positive attributes to such a high degree as to be indicative of superior fitness to perform the judicial function” for the office I am seeking (see SFBAR.org). I also bring a unique perspective to the bench as a mother, a woman of color, a formerly undocumented teen who earned scholarships to college and law school in order to succeed in becoming an attorney. I took these successes and catapulted them into a career of helping others as a public defender. In the past, I have volunteered for: project open hand, the annual dinner to raise money for The Asian Women’s Shelter, and I served as vice president of my children’s school PTA for several years. I have made helping others the cornerstone of my career and life. As a judge, i would ensure that each and every person who comes before the court will be treated equally under the law and respectfully.
Videos (1)
Candidate Contact Info
City and County of San Francisco Superior Court Judge
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My Top 3 Priorities
- A greater level of transparency within the legal system.
- Efficiency to save scarce resources and to save money for everyone that enters the legal system.
- Continuing to create an environment in my courtroom that makes everyone involved feel that they were heard and that their trial was fair, whatever the outcome.
Experience
Biography
A San Francisco resident since 1976 and a lifelong Democrat, Judge Jeffrey Ross has dedicated his life to his family, to serving his clients and now to the court and local community.
Judge Ross earned his law degree from Stanford Law School. During college and law school he worked at the law firm that was general counsel to Planned Parenthood among other pro-choice organizations. This firm helped to establish a woman’s constitutional right to choose in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. He worked at the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office, did volunteer research for a professor on his cases to end the death penalty and did an externship at the ACLU of Northern California, working on civil rights and liberty issues.
Throughout his 34-year legal practice, Jeff represented diverse clients in cases threatening their families, livelihood and liberty. He helped an AIDS patient regain custody of his daughter, and a Tibetan refugee secure asylum. Working with the ACLU, he represented organizations and individuals in First Amendment cases, twice arguing before the California Supreme Court.
As 1997 president of the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), Ross established the Law Academy — first at Mission High School and then at Balboa High School. The Law Academy mentors students, provides them with summer jobs in law offices and prepares them for college. As BASF president Judge Ross was active in the efforts to avoid the effects of Proposition 209 (the anti-affirmative action initiative) on the University of California and its law schools. Later he worked to defeat both Proposition 22 and Proposition 8, which were created by opponents of the court’s same-sex marriage decision.
Judge Ross was appointed to the San Francisco Superior Court in 2009, where he has worked to find alternatives to incarceration. As judge of the Veterans Justice Court for the past three years, he has worked with military veterans to help them avoid incarceration and to get them housing, mental health and drug treatment, and employment. When the veterans complete the program, their charges are dismissed or reduced.
Since 1983, Judge Ross has been president of the Michelle Platt-Ross Foundation, which supports programs at UCSF that serve hospitalized children. Ross was a board member of the national Immune Deficiency Foundation for fifteen years. Jeff and his wife Jan Platt moved to the Upper Haight in 1978 and raised their children there. Jan was a speech therapist in public schools. They have two married sons and six grandchildren.
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
Judge Jeff Ross Endorsements
Officials
- Governor Jerry Brown
- Senator Kamala Harris
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
- Congresswoman Jackie Speier
- State Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma
- Senator Scott Wiener
- Former Senator Mark Leno
- Assemblymember David Chiu
- Assemblymember Phil Ting
- Mayor Mark Farrell
- City Attorney Dennis Herrera
- Assessor Carmen Chu
- Sheriff Vicki Hennessy
- Former Sheriff Michael Hennessey
- District Attorney George Gascon
- Former City Attorney Louise Renne
- Board President London Breed
- Supervisor Aaron Peskin
- Supervisor Jane Kim
- Supervisor Katy Tang
- Supervisor Norman Yee
- Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer
- Supervisor Catherine Stefani
- Former Supervisor Angela Alioto
- Former Supervisor, Reverend Dr. Amos Brown
- Board of Education Commissioner Rachel Norton
- City College Vice President Alex Randolph
- Former CA Democratic Party Chair John Burton
- Former Chief of Police Greg Suhr
- Former Justice Harry Low
- Former Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich
- Former Public Defender Geoff Brown
- Former Superior Court Judge Jim Collins
- Former Superior Court Judge Nancy Davis
- Former Superior Court Judge Donna Hitchens
- Former Superior Court Judge Philip Moscone
- Former Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard
- Former U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello
- Former U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan
Groups and Organizations
- San Francisco Democratic Party
- San Francisco Republican Party
- San Francisco Chronicle'
- San Francisco Examiner
- Bay Area Reporter
- Sing Tao Daily
- All 50 San Francisco Superior Court judges
- All First District Court of Appeal justices
- California Latino Judges
- San Francisco Firefighters Local 798
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 6
- Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21
- Community Alliance for Jobs and Housing
- Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
- San Francisco Police Officers Association
- The Association of African American California Judicial Officers
- City Democratic Club
- San Francisco Democratic Women in Action
- United Democratic Club
- San Francisco Young Democrats
- Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club
- Asian American Bar Association
- Queen's Bench Bar Association
- Community Tenants Association
- District 5 Democratic Club
- Chinese American Citizens Alliance
