For the past 16 years, Holly has served as a Deputy Public Defender of Los Angeles County.  As a public defender, Holly ensures that constitutional rights are upheld for all criminal defendants.  She fights for the homeless, the mentally ill, and victims of sex trafficking, and many others.  She treats each client individually in resolving their cases.

Much of Holly’s career has been spent as a trial deputy in misdemeanors and felonies.  She has tried 65 jury trials.  She has won all but two of the misdemeanor trials, and has won acquittals or reduced charges in 80% of the felony trials she has tried.

She is currently in a supervisory position as Deputy In Charge of the Criminal Record Clearing Unit of the Public Defender Office. In this position, Holly trains community organizers on the various forms of expungement available in California.  She prepares and organizes expungement events for those who are unhoused or housing insecure in Los Angeles County. 

Holly graduated from Southwestern Law School.  She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign majoring in Rhetoric:  The Art of the Argument.  She served as the editor of ‘The Griot,’ a black student newspaper.  She worked on the yearbook committee and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

After graduating from college, Holly served the public and her co-workers in her capacity as a flight attendant and as an elected official for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA).  

Her many positions for the 3000 member Los Angeles Local Council 12, included Grievance Chair, Local Council Representative, Secretary, and Vice President.  These positions have given Holly a solid background for leadership and bringing people together to make difficult decisions.

Outside her work life, Ms. Hancock has continued her connection to the community by holding expungement clinics for the NAACP in Los Angeles County, while serving as Chair of the Legal Redress Committee of the Venice-Santa Monica branch.   Additionally, Holly also serves on the Resolutions Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, where new law is drafted and proposed.   

Seeking more knowledge about the democratic process, Ms. Hancock graduated from Emerge CA in 2021, a democratic training ground for women.  She has served her legal community as past president of the Black Public Defender's Association, past board member of Black Women Lawyers and current steward of Local 148, LAC Public Defenders’ Union.  Additionally, Holly continues to educate others on community issues as the proud member and committee co-chair of a graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Finally, she has joined and canvassed for other candidates as a member of the Black Women’s Democratic Club.

Holly is the proud mother of Chloe, a spring 2022 graduate of Loyola Marymount University.  Post-pandemic, she looks forward to re-joining her music ministry at her church and singing aloud at gospel mass. 

People-Centered 

As a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Holly will seek to continue to serve this community, and help to resolve the issues that bring people before the Courts.  Holly will seek to resolve issues and get to the root causes while treating all parties, including attorneys and prosecutors, charged individuals, and complaining witnesses with dignity and respect.

Safety-Based Alternatives

California citizens have voted for laws and propositions such as diversion programs, alternatives to incarceration, and mental health programs.  These programs benefit all parties involved.  These options actually improve safety in the community, whereas the short-term solution of removing the person from the community can perpetuate the problem in the long-term.  Holly will respectfully listen and seek to create long-term solutions to the issues before her, as the law permits.

Continuity of Service

If elected, Holly would continue to serve the community as she has done throughout her career.  This is what has driven her throughout her career and life.  She will remain unaffected by any political influence. 

Renee does not believe a judge should have a political agenda while on the bench.  A judge must be neutral and unbiased, look at the facts and circumstances of each case, and apply the law.