Judge Candidate Beebe

 

Jed Beebe, a candidate for the open seat on the superior court bench, currently has the position of advising the judges of the district on research matters. Working closely with these judges has garnered him endorsements from many of the sitting jurists.

Beebe received a scholarship to attend the USC Gould School of Law after graduating with honors from USC. Passing the bar exam on the first try in 1974, Beebe began his legal career with an insurance defense firm in Los Angeles. After 18 months, he started his own legal practice, specializing in civil litigation, family law, and probate matters. Shortly thereafter he was hired as a part-time prosecutor for the City of Hawthorne, gaining valuable trial experience prosecuting misdemeanors.

 

In 1982, Beebe moved to Santa Barbara and joined the County Councel’s office, specializing in land use and California Environmental Quality Act issues. Beebe was assigned the case of Casmalia hazardous waste dump, eventually negotiating agreements limiting activities at the site, and later authored a county ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors that provided some direct local regulation. Casmalia Resources appealed the ordinance and Beebe successfully defended it. The California Supreme Court ultimately denied review of the ordinance and the county won its right to exert local control.

 In 1990, Beebe was hired by the judges of the superior court as the first full-time research attorney in North County. In addition to preparing research memos for the civil law and motion calendars, Beebe often was asked to serve as judge pro-tempore in the juvenile court, in traffic and small claims cases, and in both criminal and civil trials. Beebe has been serving the North County judiciary in this position for the past 18 years.

 

Asked why he is better qualified than the other candidates for the open seat on the bench, Beebe said, “I’ve been working with the judges for 18 years … I have criminal and civil experience. It’s a different process when you’re the judge … a shift in perspective. That’s what I’ve been cultivating.”

Beebe noted that much of being a judge is knowing how to apply the law fairly. A trial judge must look at case law to make exact determinations of how to apply the law in particular situations. Beebe noted that he’s been asked on thousands of occasions to perform research on behalf of the sitting jurists.

 

Beebe responded that in order to make good decisions in the voting booth, voters should be looking at what others have to say who have had the opportunity to observe the lawyer perform under pressure. “All the judges in the North County except for one have given me their endorsement for this open seat,” Beebe said.

In addition to the endorsements from the local judiciary, Jed Beebe has also garnered a rating of “exceptionally well qualified” from Santa Barbara Women Lawyers.