DAVID DEJUTE

Why Thrive LA endorses DAVID

David DeJute is a Harvard Law graduate and veteran litigator with more than 30 years of legal experience spanning federal prosecution, major corporate litigation, and legal education. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, spent years as Vice President of Litigation at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and currently directs the Disaster Relief Clinic at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. He is running for Los Angeles County Superior Court, Seat 87. LA's court system is drowning in backlogs, and voters deserve a judge who will run an efficient courtroom, hold lawyers accountable for delays, and apply the law without an ideological agenda. DeJute's combination of prosecutorial experience, high-stakes civil litigation, and academic depth gives him the tools to do exactly that. He describes his judicial philosophy in plain terms: determine the law, apply it, call balls and strikes, and move on. That is the right temperament for the bench. DeJute's record backs up the rhetoric. As a federal prosecutor, he handled complex cases requiring the kind of evidentiary rigor and trial discipline that translate directly to the Superior Court. At Sony Pictures, he managed major commercial litigation for one of the world's largest entertainment companies. At Pepperdine, he built a Disaster Relief Clinic that provided direct legal services to wildfire and disaster victims across Southern California. His endorsements reflect the breadth of his credibility: former Mayor James Hahn, LA County Assessor Jeffrey Prang, civic leader Rick Caruso, retired First Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger E. West, and a roster of sitting and former judges including Hon. David Berger, Hon. Brian Gasdia, Hon. Steve Morgan, Hon. James Steele, and Hon. David Walgren. David DeJute is the experienced, no-nonsense judge Los Angeles County needs on the Superior Court.