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Debra Archuleta
Debra Archuleta is a judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. She assumed office in 2017. Her current term ends on January 8, 2029.
Archuleta ran for election for Los Angeles County District Attorney in California. She lost in the primary on March 5, 2024.
Archuleta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Archuleta's professional experience includes working as a judge, law clerk, and deputy district attorney. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine in 1985 and a J.D. from Western State College of Law in 1990.[1]
Archuleta has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- Ward AME Church
- National Association of Equal Justice in America
- National Women’s Judges Association
- California Judges’ Association
- Finally Family Homes
- Latina Lawyers Bar Association
- Mexican-American Bar Association
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2024)
General election
General election for Los Angeles County District Attorney
Nathan Hochman defeated incumbent George Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)  | 59.9 | 1,983,802 |
 | George Gascón (Nonpartisan) | 40.1 | 1,328,710 | |
| Total votes: 3,312,512 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney
The following candidates ran in the primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | George Gascón (Nonpartisan) | 25.2 | 370,654 |
| ✔ | | Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan) | 15.9 | 234,509 |
 | Jonathan Hatami (Nonpartisan) | 13.2 | 194,755 | |
 | Debra Archuleta (Nonpartisan) | 8.5 | 125,306 | |
 | Jeff Chemerinsky (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 116,064 | |
| Maria Ramirez (Nonpartisan) | 7.1 | 105,088 | ||
 | John McKinney (Nonpartisan) | 6.0 | 87,903 | |
 | Eric Siddall (Nonpartisan) | 5.6 | 82,993 | |
 | David Sherman Milton (Nonpartisan) | 4.3 | 63,044 | |
| Craig Mitchell (Nonpartisan) | 3.0 | 44,326 | ||
 | Lloyd Masson (Nonpartisan) | 2.0 | 29,306 | |
 | Daniel Kapelovitz (Nonpartisan) | 1.2 | 17,622 | |
| Total votes: 1,471,570 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Archuleta in this election.
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2022)
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Debra Archuleta (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2016
California held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. There was a primary on June 7, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 31, 2016. A total of 351 seats were up for election. Debra Archuleta defeated Steven P. Schreiner in the election for Office 11 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
| Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office #11 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Debra Archuleta |
59.82% | 1,078,021 |
| Steven P. Schreiner | 40.18% | 724,055 |
| Total Votes | 1,802,076 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, "2016 Unofficial General Election Results," accessed November 11, 2016 | ||
Debra Archuleta and Steven P. Schreiner defeated Paul Kim and Jonathan Alexan Malek in the primary election on June 7, 2016.
| Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office #11, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Debra Archuleta |
47.33% | 714,214 |
| Steven P. Schreiner |
26.21% | 395,454 |
| Paul Kim | 14.77% | 222,831 |
| Jonathan Alexan Malek | 11.70% | 176,560 |
| Total Votes | 1,509,059 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential Primary Election June 7, 2016," July 1, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[2][3][4][5]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[2]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[2]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[2]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Debra Archuleta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Archuleta's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Public safety is the number one priority of the District Attorney. I will be seeking tougher sentences on individuals who commit serious and violent crimes. I will impose bail as well as appropriate enhancements for weapons and hate crimes on an individualized basis to more effectively deter repeat offenders from harming communities across Los Angeles County. We are not safer now than we were 3 years ago when the current DA took office, which is why I have decided to run to replace him.
- Under my administration, victims will receive their day in court in a fair and timely manner. I will seek to restore critical law enforcement partnerships so that these agencies will respond to calls and present cases to the DA's Office for filing consideration. I will restore the Office's headcount to clear the backlog of 14,000 cases that currently leaves both victims and defendants in limbo. DAs will once again be allowed to advocate on behalf of victims including, but not limited to, appearing at parole board hearings, if necessary. I will work to eliminate blanket policies because the current "one-size-fits-all" approach to criminal justice does not work.
- It is inhumane to allow people to live under tarps and tents on the streets of LA County, particularly when many homeless Angelenos are women and children. As DA, I pledge to meaningfully address crime committed both by and against people living on the streets. “Justice for all” means swiftly intervening when violent criminals commit armed assault, human trafficking, sex crimes, and more within homeless encampments, just as the DA would for crimes committed in wealthy neighborhoods. Further, I will advocate for mandatory drug treatment programs when appropriate, and I will prosecute drug dealers. I will also advocate for treatment that better serves the needs of mentally ill defendants, including alternatives such as CARE Court.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Debra Archuleta did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 5, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
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State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
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