Patrick Hare

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Patrick Hare

Nonpartisan

Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

2

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

California State University, Long Beach, 1986

Law

Boston University School of Law, 1989

Personal

Birthplace

Portland, Ore.

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Patrick Hare is a judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. He assumed office on January 2, 2023. His current term ends on January 8, 2029.

Hare ran for election for judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Hare completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Patrick Hare was born in Portland, Oregon. He earned a bachelor's degree from the California State University, Long Beach, in 1986 and a law degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1989.

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2022)

General election

General election for Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Patrick Hare defeated Karen A. Brako in the general election for Superior Court of Los Angeles County on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Hare (Nonpartisan)	59.7	1,103,644
	Submit photo	Karen A. Brako (Nonpartisan)	40.3	746,554

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,850,198
= 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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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Patrick Hare and Karen A. Brako defeated Thomas D. Allison and Richard Quiñones in the primary for Superior Court of Los Angeles County on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Hare (Nonpartisan)	39.3	494,095
✔	Submit photo	Karen A. Brako (Nonpartisan)	24.0	301,745
		Thomas D. Allison (Nonpartisan)	19.1	240,670
	Submit photo	Richard Quiñones (Nonpartisan)	17.5	220,597

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,257,107
= 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

To view Hare's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Patrick Hare completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hare's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the son of a union machinist and homemaker, the first in my family to graduate college, and I am a public defender. I am running for judge for the same reason that I became a public defender over thirty years ago - and that is my heartfelt conviction that Justice Matters. I believe judges should have one foot in the courtroom, and the other foot in the communities they serve. In the courtroom I have tried over 100 jury trials, and have practiced civil law as well as criminal. In the community I lived in a poverty-stricken immigrant community in East Hollywood while serving on the board of directors of a community non-profit there, assisting families with landlord/tenant issues, and providing after-school care and tutoring for children. I directed a community gospel choir performing throughout the city raising issues of systemic injustice, and I currently volunteer at a homeless shelter. I have seen on a daily basis in the courts as well as in the community the effects of crime, poverty, broken homes, mass incarceration, homelessness, substance abuse and untreated mental illness. I have also seen the transformed lives that community, housing, treatment and employment can bring.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I believe in restorative justice - justice that restores our community to wholeness- for victims of crime, as well as for those accused of crimes.
• I believe in equal access, equal protection, equal opportunity, and equal justice under the law.
• I am the ONLY candidate in this race rated "WELL QUALIFIED" by the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am deeply committed to the Collaborative Courts, which focus on treatment over incarceration for non-violent offenders who suffer from mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness issues. In contrast to the adversarial model of so many courts, the collaborative courts bring together judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, mental health and substance abuse professionals, as well as the probation department, all working together to fashion responses which will address the underlying root causes of criminal behavior and work to eliminate recidivism.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

I believe in the rule of law, at all times guided and bound by the overriding principles of the Constitution. I believe that the Constitution is a living document that needs to be interpreted in light of changing circumstances. Statutes should be interpreted in ways that are in keeping with the fundamental core values of the Constitution, including due process, equal protection, the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, and in ways that promote liberty and justice for all.

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running to fill the seat of the retiring Hon. Morton Rochman, himself a former public defender.

Do you believe that Bar Association ratings are an accurate reflection of a judge’s ability?

Absolutely. The Los Angeles County Bar Association Judicial Evaluation process is very extensive. Candidates are provided the opportunity to describe their educational background, their professional experience, their most significant cases and their community involvement. They also provide the committee with the names of 75 people that they have dealt with professionally that the committee contacts as part of their investigation. Candidates are then invited to participate in an hour-long interview with a sub-committee that has investigated them. Candidates that only receive a rating of Qualified or Not Qualified are allowed to appeal their rating to the full committee for reconsideration. The rating of the Bar Association is the product of a full investigation of the candidates experience, competence, integrity and temperament. I am the only candidate in this race with a "Well Qualified" rating from the Los Angeles County Bar Assocation.

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

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Candidate

Superior Court of Los Angeles County

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Footnotes

California courts

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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