by Garth Meyer
Emily Spear is running for her second six-year term as an L.A. County Superior Court judge. Based at the Inglewood Courthouse, the North Redondo Beach resident wants to keep doing what she’s doing.
“I do really enjoy what I do,” said the judge. “It’s endlessly fascinating. Every single time, people will surprise you.”
She has worked predominantly on family law cases for the past five years, before switching to civil, criminal and traffic.
“It’s like a game, who are we meeting today? What can I do to help our community today?” she said. “My boss calls me his ‘jack of all trades.’”
Spear works among 20 judges at Inglewood, in non-partisan positions. She previously was assigned to the Compton Courthouse, where she was the subject of a public admonishment last fall by the State of California Commission on Judicial Performance, after alleged misconduct.
Spear grew up outside of Chicago, her parents both teachers.
“My mother taught Spanish at my high school. So I took French,” she said. “(But) my mom spoke some Spanish at home and I learned it too, though when I came out here, they use certain Spanish terms you don’t hear in (the midwest).”
Spear went to University of Illinois, graduating with a degree in psychology, thinking she would be a counselor. She finished school soon after September 11, and, with minimal jobs to be had, Spear applied to law school, was accepted and found she liked it.
She has returned to psychology now, in a fashion, working toward a Phd in the subject, through N.Y.U. online, to better understand mental health issues she sees in the courtroom.
“For personal enrichment. My goal is to be a better judge every day,” she said.
Spear came to California with her husband in 2007, who was hired at Northrop Grumman.
“He got a job he was in love with, and I was in love with him, so I went with him,” she said.
They are now the parents of two young sons.
Election Day is March 5. Spear’s opponent is Kim Repecka, a deputy public defender for L.A. County.
Commission report
The State of California Commission on Judicial Performance voted last September to impose a public admonishment for Spear, “In light of the number of incidents of misconduct, the judge’s lack of insight into the seriousness of her misconduct, and the fact that some of her misconduct reflected a lack of integrity.”
The commission concluded that, while Spear worked in the Family Law Division at the Compton Courthouse, in 2021 and 2022, the judge “engaged in a pattern of behavior that conveyed a persistent disregard and disrespect for her judicial and administrative obligations, for her judicial colleagues, and for her supervising judges and court administration.”
The conduct was described as “numerous unauthorized and undocumented absences and early departures from court; disparaging remarks about a judicial colleague; discourteous conduct toward, and false statements to, her supervising judge; and manipulation of her calendar for personal benefit. Judge Spear’s conduct was, at a minimum, improper action.”
Attempts to reach Spear for comment on this matter were unsuccessful.
Before she was elected as judge in 2018, Spear worked as a deputy district attorney in L.A. County for 11 years. ER
