Hear a podcast of our interview with Carla Keehn (photo, left), Superior Court judicial candidate: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au... .  The interview aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM.

By Miriam Raftery

May 7, 2014 (San Diego) – How fair are ratings for judicial candidates meted out by the San Diego County Bar Association?

Last week, the Bar’s Judicial Election Evaluation Committee (JEEC)came out with rankings in five contested Superior Court judicial races.  The Bar ranked three candidates as “lacking qualifications” including one with extensive experience and no disciplinary actions. The professional lawyers’ group also gave a “highly qualified” rating to an incumbent judge who  pled guilty to reckless driving  with alcohol involved and has faced multiple legal disciplinary actions.

Now some candidates are speaking out to criticize the Bar’s ratings system—calling for its abolishment or dramatic changes to make the system more transparent and fair.

One of those candidates, Carla Keehn, has erected billboards starting today to reveal her opponent’s criminal conviction.  “Vote for Carla Keehn, the only candidate without a criminal conviction. No one is above the law—not even judges,” the billboards read.