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Joe Dane
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Joe Dane ran for election for judge of the Superior Court of Orange County in California. He lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.
Dane completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Joe Dane was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned an associate degree from Long Beach City College in 1986 and a J.D. from the Western State University College of Law in 1995. Dane's career experience includes working as a superior court commissioner, hospital orderly, x-ray technician, reserve deputy sheriff, and prosecutor.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Orange County, California (2022)
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Superior Court of Orange County
Christopher Duff won election outright against Joe Dane in the primary for Superior Court of Orange County on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christopher Duff (Nonpartisan) | 60.4 | 310,300 | |
 | Joe Dane (Nonpartisan)  | 39.6 | 203,685 | |
| Total votes: 513,985 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Dane's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joe Dane completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dane's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a Superior Court Commissioner currently, so I am already doing the work of a judge. I preside over a courtroom in the criminal division and have been on the bench for nearly 4 years. Before being selected by all the judges in Orange County to become a Commissioner, I was a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles County, a prosecutor for 12 years and in private practice for 10 years. As a Deputy District Attorney, I have tried over 125 trials, including homicide, sexual assault and gang cases. I am endorsed by the retiring judge, James DiCesare along with dozens of my colleagues - the Judges in Orange County. I believe in a strong, independent judicial branch and in the foundations of our country - the Constitution and our County's great citizens. I am a husband and the father to two amazing daughters.
I am asking for your vote to continue my career of public service. I am running for Seat 9 in this June's election.
To read more or to contact me, please visit joedaneforjudge.com- Experience matters. I have seen the law from all sides - on patrol as a Deputy Sheriff enforcing the law, as a prosecutor handling the most serious of cases fighting for victims of crime and now as a Commissioner on the bench in court every day.
- I believe in giving back and community involvement. I volunteer with the Constitutional Rights Foundation in their Mock Trial program for high school students, I serve on committees and do community outreach for the court.
- I believe that everyone who enters my court should be treated with dignity and respect. Everyone deserves fairness and and to be heard. That is what I do every day.
I believe that the role of the court is to be the independent third branch of government, free from bias and outside influence. Our courts are ultimately in the business of public service, upholding the laws and principles of the Constitution. I also believe the court system should not be a mystery. Transparency and community awareness and involvement is key.
I have been honored to have appeared before a wide variety of judges in several counties. I like to think that who I am as a current bench officer is a blend of all the traits I admire from each of them. The knowledge of the law and procedure from one, the patience, yet firm control of another, the well-reasoned and articulated rulings of another and the bench demeanor of many.
I would ask anyone who wants to know what I am like as a current bench officer and what I would be like as a judge to come sit in my courtroom for an hour a day or a week. Hopefully what you will see is someone who is respectful to all, who allows everyone to be heard and who makes fair consistent. Rulings grounded in the law.
The question asks about qualities for an elected official. As a judge, I think the most important qualities are humility, experience, common sense, and understanding and reverence for the law and courage to always do the right thing with each and every case before you.
The qualities are my track record. Having served on the bench for almost 9 years now. As a temporary judge, I presided over traffic and small claims matters after being selected and trained by our judges. As a commissioner, I have undergone the same background vetting and selection as a judge. I have the endorsement of dozens of my colleagues who know me, my work ethic and my experience.
A judge should always be vigilant to make sure that they are free from any outside bias from any source. Whether that is political, social, or even implicit bias, a judge should be completely fair and independent with every ruling he or she makes.
I would much prefer that my legacy was as a great husband and father to my children. Within the law, I would like to be known as someone who is always friendly, fair, and consistent in rulings that uphold the principles of law.
The most impactful was the events of 9-11. I was a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office and remember getting ready for work when I heard the news of the attacks.
My very first job in high school was working in construction, cleaning up debris from homebuilding. I worked that job over a very long, hot Texas summer. After high school, I have always worked full time while attending college and law school and paid my way without any student loans or debt.
While it may have been seen as a struggle, I like to view it as overcoming adversity. I never received any loan assistance, financial assistance, or any type of financial support from any source other than my own hard work while going through school. I have worked full-time at night while attending class during the day and still give back to the community by volunteering and taking unpaid positions to gain experience and work within the field.
The role of a judge should not be a mystery, nor should the court system. Often times, people's oy experience with the court is a traffic ticket or reporting for jury service. There is so much more to our courts. Every day, my colleagues and I hear cases about criminal cases, but there are family law cases, probate, civil and juvenile matters. It is an honor to be entrusted with that responsibility to listen to the evidence and base a ruling in the law in a fair and just way.
As I have mentioned in other answers, I believe that the judicial branch is and should remain independent from the other branches of government. I believe that every case truly is unique and all the circumstances and information should be considered in any ruling.
As I touched on previously, I am honored to know my colleagues and see their work daily. As an attorney, I worked alongside many of our current judges when they were practicing law as well. There are certainly qualities and traits that I admire and strive to emulate from each of them.
Of course. This is not a robotic job where you can look at a code section or a criminal charge and automatically assume anything about anybody the parties involved. While it cannot influence my decision, I am certainly empathetic to the plight of being in court - whether as a defendant, a witness or juror.
I have been rated as qualified to hold this position.
I served as a Temporary Judge in Orange County for five years before being selected to be a commissioner. There were a number of retirements that left several seats open for election in this cycle. A judge that I know and respect, James de Caesar was retiring and I approached him and asked for his endorsement for his seat. I realized that it is not "his seat" to pass on, but I am honored to be respected by him and endorsed for his seat. That is the seat that I selected to run for in this election cycle.
Judicial elections are supposed to be nonpartisan. I believe that a broad experience in the legal community is more important than any previous elected office. That is why I think that I am uniquely well qualified to be elected judge. I truly have the experience from all sides of the law. I have been in law enforcement working on patrol. I have been a prosecutor in the most serious of crimes. I have been a defense attorney and no people's personal struggles and now I sit on the bench with that wealth of experience in my life.
Our court system seems to face a new challenge everyday, every month and every year. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly caused some major changes within the system. To the extent that the entire country and our county continues to recover from the devastating effects, both economic and personal, maintaining the high standard of doing justice and providing equal access to that justice for all is important. We still continue to need to serve the public, but we also need the public's help. We always need to strive to find the balance between needing the public's involvement for things like jury service and serving on the grand jury, while respecting that people need to put food on the table and may not be available to do their Civic duty as often or as long as we would like.
While still maintaining its independence, our court has the amazing opportunity to help shape our local communities by addressing major issues with programs such as homeless courts, veterans courts, and other collaborative courts to address underlying issues that lead to criminal behavior. In Orange County, we have had tremendous success with many of these programs. I am honored to preside over many of these calendars that help to address and correct social issues, not just legal issues. I believe our court has a strong role in mirroring what society sees as the current issues it faces.
I enjoy interacting with the public, the attorneys and my colleagues in the trial courts. At this time, I have no plans to seek appointment to a higher court or to run for any other office or position.
To some extent, but not necessarily. They are tasked with evaluating and rating candidates based on information gathered during a limited vetting process, but unless you have worked directly with a candidate or have appeared before them, the information isn't first hand.
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.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 15, 2022
California courts
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
