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Controversial attorney appointed SLO County judge

December 22, 2017

Matt Guerrero

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Matt Guerrero to a judgeship in the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. Guerrero, a supporter of SLO County Supervisor Adam Hill, participated on social media pages that demean women and attack those who question Hill’s actions.

Guerrero, 47, of Oceano, was on the pathway to a judgeship in 2016. At the time, he was affiliated with a criminal investigation into John Wallace, a man charged with four felony and two misdemeanor counts of conflicts of interest, and Guerrero was passed over for several other candidates.

During his time on the boards of the Oceano Community Services District and the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District, Guerrero voted in support of many of Wallace’s questionable actions and verbally condemned several people who asked the district attorney to investigate Wallace.

According to the California Constitution, the governor makes temporary judge appointments until the next election, at which time the appointee must run for office.

There are currently eight seats on the local bench up for election in 2018. Five of the seats are governor appointed temporary judgeships that will become permanent if the appointees win the seats in the 2018 election.

Guerrero has been a sole practitioner since 2002. He was a contract attorney for the California Parole Advocacy Program from 2005 to 2011 and for Maguire and Ashbaugh as a public defender from 2002 to 2017.

Guerrero earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, San Bernardino. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John A. Trice. Guerrero is a Democrat.

Total compensation for the position is $200,042. Guerrero is a Democrat.

 


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Now have another public defender on the bench and that can’t be a bad thing. Balance is good and although I sometimes want to say, “just hang’em”, we need to resist that temptation for our constitutional form of justice to be well served.


-2

Jorge, I usually agree with your (mostly) balanced and almost always funny comments. In this case, I can only assume that you don’t know Matt Guerrero and are not aware of his behavior – it couldn’t be further from judge-like. Guerrero has courted and worked alongside Adam Hill, John Shoals, Mary Lucey, Caren Ray, all of whom have sold their souls for power and money. They will all continue in that vein and will become more and more powerful and corrupt if they continue in office.


3

I do not want to label him guilty because of his acquaintances, a public defender routinely does their job in the presences of people they would have nothing to do with during their private time. Our legal system has to represent even the guilty, for justice to be served. This at times seems to be a waste of tax dollars but the people who do the job, must be respected for their service. Certainly they have to routinely deal with the pressure of a process while setting aside their personal convictions.


1

What sort of point is this article trying to make by mentioning that he is a Democrat TWICE at the end? Is this CCNs effort at showing it’s “fair and balanced”?


0

Folks,


Apparently, Governor Moonbeam is finishing his work on the serious effort to completely ruin California. The idea of ‘Judge’ Matt Guerrero is appalling and anyone who has followed his career in public service knows exactly what I am talking about.


George Bailey


5

I, for one, think he will do a good job as a judge. Congratulations Matt.


-3

Just cause you both live in TJ north does not mean you need to support this ass crack of a crook, liar and ass kisser.


2

Apparently the Governor didn’t look to deep into Guerrero’s history. As a director of OCSD and SSLOCSD he not only played games with the Public Record Act and Brown Act, he did public records requests on the members of the public who were chosen to review the RFP’s of the investigative firms who bid on the John Wallace conflict of interest matter. He was trying to label them as “racists” — which is absurd and irrelevant to the work they did. He, himself, signed checks from SSLOCSD’s LAIF account for payroll (a big no-no) for that agency. Guerrero was instrumental in hiring his own aunt in the OCSD office and several sleaze-ball General Managers at OCSD who literally stole and figuratively (through incompetence) at OCSD (had to hire Paavo at $1M contract to get out from under that collateral damage) and an Administrator at the San. Dist. who has left a wake of destruction that is still being uncovered. The legal bills to clean up those messes were costly and in the case of the SSLOCSD continue to accrue.


Guerrero gave credibility to the those who have no credibility (Lucey and Walsh) accusing Mayor Hill of misconduct and pursued and investigation that found no wrong doing and cost upwards of $50,000 to SSLOCSD and AG ratepayers.


Personally, I am disgusted when I read that a Public Defender (or any attorney for that matter) blames the rape victim for her own attack and injuries (a broken wrist) — which he did defending the scumbag Cayucos firefighter.


The article doesn’t say what judge Guerrero replaces and if/how soon he can be voted out. Pay attention voters! Vote “No” on Guerrero. Hell, write the Governor and tell him he made a bad choice.


5

Come on Julie, write Brown? look at what Ca has become, tax after tax, fee after fee and for what? to support wetbacks thats what for. Gurrero is just another for the books. People say Trump isnt fit for office, what the Frig about this Senile A hole.


3

Appears to be 100% qualified to fit in perfectly with the demise of SLO.


3

If he looks a little sleazy in this photo it’s because he is. If there’s one defining characteristic of Guerrero it is lack of judgment. He employed his aunt as the bookkeeper for Oceano Community Services District while he chaired the District. She subsequently left under a cloud. Guerrero never seemed to grasp the finer points of the Brown Act and certainly did not act under the Act’s definition of sunshine. He has been so desperate to gain a judgeship that he sold out to whomever it took to get there. The worst possible choice for a judge.


3

if this is one of Jerry Brown’s Bags

Well POS are sleeping together,

FU


2

Of course.


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