VALLEJO – Two candidates running for Solano County Superior Court Judge in the March 5 primary election both have extensive legal experience – but in very different practice areas.
Bryan Kim spent most of his career as a prosecutor and is a current court commissioner and would bring a wealth of experience in criminal law. Kim’s opponent Micheal Thompson has been practicing law for decades, mainly as a civil litigator.
Both Kim and Thompson are running for the Department 15 seat, which is being vacated by Judge Robert Bowers, who announced last year that he would retire. Bowers has been a judge in Solano County since 2003.
If no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the primary, there would be a runoff election in November. However, with only two candidates running, the race is likely to be decided in March.
The Vallejo Sun interviewed Kim and Thompson to better understand their legal perspectives and qualifications.
Bryan Kim started working as a prosecutor in Inyo County in 2002 and joined the Solano County District Attorney’s Office in 2005, where he prosecuted gang crimes, major crimes and felonies, among other areas. He was elected by the superior court judges to be a court commissioner in 2019, which is similar to a judge.
“I really care about the courts and about what we do,” Kim said. “I care about how the court is perceived and that residents can have trust in what we are doing in court.”
As a court commissioner, Kim said that he runs his own courtroom, where he oversees mostly criminal cases. While commissioners are not elected judges, they do much of the same work, handling motions and trials and other court procedures, with the main difference being that the parties have to stipulate to have their case heard before a commissioner rather than a judge.
Kim said that he thinks that judges, particularly when it comes to criminal law, have to be able to listen to both sides patiently and maintain the right demeanor to strike a balance between accountability for violating the law and a fair process.
“You have to see that people can be redeemed and changed,” he said. "You have to be able to balance those interests so people can have real faith in what they're doing. That's the trick and that's what makes a good judge in my mind."
Kim also said that he does not want people to think he will approach being a judge with a prosecutor’s mindset, despite being a prosecutor for 17 years. He said that when he was a prosecutor, he tried to be fair and not in conflict with defense attorneys. He pointed out that several prominent defense attorneys in the county have endorsed his candidacy.
"Dealing in that process, dealing with attorneys who end up trusting me and endorsing me, I'm pretty proud about that,” he said.
He also said that he respects Bowers and would try to carry on his legacy of being fair to both sides. Bowers, he said, would at times critique how he was handling a proceeding, but also do the same for defense attorneys. “I think his legacy is, he tried to be fair in each case that he handled,” he said.
“Cases are people,” Kim said, and cautioned that there shouldn’t be any perspective on how to handle a particular kind of case. "I want to be somebody who takes the time and the care to know about the cases and the people involved to make a good decision,” he said.
Kim said that he’s enjoyed running for office and hearing from the perspectives of voters and their perceptions of the court system.
“There's a certain trust in judicial officers that we take seriously,” Kim said. “I take that to heart, I understand that there is a duty, a responsibility, and I should guard that and remember the decisions that I make are affecting people and affecting the reputation of the court."
Kim has not reported any campaign contributions. He is endorsed by most of the current judges in Solano County, the Solano County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the Vacaville and Fairfield Police Officer Associations, Sheriff Tom Ferrara, state Sen. Bill Dodd, Solano County Supervisor John Vasquez, Vacaville City Councilmember Roy Stockton and other current and former elected officials.
- Campaign website
Attorney Micheal Thompson said he has wanted to be a judge since he was a child and would watch Perry Mason with his grandmother. Thompson said that he knew early on he wanted to be a lawyer and did everything he could to make that happen, even carrying a briefcase to school.
Thompson previously ran for judge in 2010, but narrowly lost to Judge Daniel Healy, 52%-47%. At the time, Thompson faced some controversy over the similarity of his name to U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson.
Thompson said that he wasn’t thinking of running for judge again until Judge Robert Bowers called him and asked him to run for the seat he was vacating. “I hadn't really given any thought to running until he came into my office and said, ‘I'm retiring, I would like you to take over and run for my seat,’” Thompson said. “My jaw dropped.”
He was particularly surprised because he said that he doesn’t have a close relationship with Bowers and hadn’t appeared before him in years. Bowers primarily handles criminal cases and Thompson’s practice is mainly in civil cases.
Thompson grew up in Vallejo and has practiced law since 1985. He attended law school at the University of California Los Angeles, where he simultaneously earned his law degree and a master’s degree in business administration. He had intended to become a full time tax attorney, but started taking overflow work for famed Los Angeles attorney Johnnie Cochran.
He said that he used to do more criminal defense cases, but that his interest in that paled over time. Most of his cases now are in the civil arena, where he handles personal injury cases, real estate disputes, landlord and tenant matters, wills and probate.
But Thompson said that while he may be better prepared to take on civil matters, he is ready to handle a calendar of either civil or criminal cases.
"One of the biggest challenges in my opinion is making the best use of the court’s limited financial resources,” he said. “Judges and their support staff are being asked to do more with less financial resources available to them. One way to tackle that problem is to bring on Judges who have substantial broad-based legal experience, who can ‘hit the ground running,’ and can preside over a variety of cases."
Thompson said that he lives by a court calendar, that he works 75 hours every week and hasn’t taken a vacation in three or four years.
And while he didn’t get a chance to be a judge back in 2010, Thompson said that he thinks he’d make an even better judge today because of the additional experience he had since then.
"To me it's the pinnacle of practicing law," he said. "I believe I would be a much better judge than I was 10-15 years ago, just because of the life experience I've had."
"I can think of no better way to close out my legal career than to transition from advocate to the bench,” Thompson said.
Thompson has not reported any campaign donations so far.
- Campaign website
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