Assemblymember Lieu Decries Naming Of “Not Qualified” Judge To The Bench

Failed Republican Assembly Candidate, Special Interest Board Member Elia Pirozzi Named to the Bench Despite “Not Qualified” Rating from the State Bar

Sacramento, CA – Less than a week after the Governor’s Administration defended itself against charges that his judicial nominees lacked diversity, we learn shocking news about the Governor 's May 23, 2007 San Bernardino County Superior Court appointment, Elia V. Pirozzi, a San Bernardino County real estate broker.  The naming occurred despite the fact that Pirozzi was deemed “Not Qualified” by the State Bar’s Judicial Nominee Evaluation (JNE) Committee, which reviews all applicants for judicial positions.

Pirozzi is a long-time Republican activist, who lost in a Republican Primary for the State Assembly three years ago, after previously losing several races for Congress.  He is also a board member of the California Building Industry Association, which has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to various committees controlled by the Governor.

Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who has led the Legislature’s minority caucuses in criticizing the Administration’s appointments, decried the Governor’s action. “Every time we’ve raised the issue of judicial diversity, the pushback is that the Governor only looks for the most qualified applicants,” the Torrance Lawmaker said.  “This punches a hole in that argument.”

Two weeks ago, Lieu wrote a letter to Legislative Leadership asking them to reject funding for 50 new judges the Governor had sought, citing the lack of diversity in the Governor’s judicial appointments.  Lieu, the incoming chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, was joined in the effort by Assemblymembers Alberto Torrico (current chair of the API Caucus), Joe Coto (chair of the Latino Caucus), and Merv Dymally (chair of the Black Caucus).

The three caucuses joined together to express frustration that, although they had actively recruited minority applicants and brought them to the Governor’s staff, there have actually been fewer minority appointments in the last year.

“At least now we know what our applicants did wrong,” Lieu quipped.  “They were qualified attorneys instead of Republican insiders.”