attorney14 sources, dated 2026-02-26 – 2026-10-20· last searched 2026-10-28
candidate in the runoff for Los Angeles County Superior Court Office 65
Overview
Synthesized 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session from 11 sources dated 2026-02-26 to 2026-10-20. Machine-written; numbers link to the sources below.
Anna Slotky Reitano, admitted to the bar in 2009, spent about a decade as a Los Angeles County deputy public defender, including juvenile felony work, and since 2024 has been a deputy county counsel supervising civil litigation 14,4,1. She faces Justin Allen Clayton in the Office 65 runoff; LACBA rated both, and every primary candidate in the race, Qualified 5,3. She emphasizes mental-health diversion, access to justice and breadth across criminal, juvenile and civil law 11,4,1. She lost a 2022 judicial race 1. MetNews criticized that 2022 slate campaign and her ballot designation 8; a blogger called those objections pedantic and picked her 2.
Record
Admitted to the State Bar June 4, 2009; license active, no public discipline [S2].14
Joined the Public Defender in 2014: three years in juvenile court, mostly felonies, and five years on felonies at the San Fernando Courthouse [S11].1
Joined the County Counsel's Justice and Safety Division in May 2024; supervises litigation and advises county departments [S8, S11].4,1
Ran in 2022 on the "Defenders of Justice" slate and lost [S4, S11].8,1
In 2026 the Registrar struck "Justice and Safety Division" from her requested ballot designation [S4].8
Rated Qualified by the LACBA JEEC, April 2026 [S7].5
Stated positions
Focused on mental-health diversion and treatment for amenable clients, informed by a brother with schizophrenia (2026) [S8, S11].4,1
Would enhance access to justice through clear communication and consistent interpreter availability (May 2026) [S8].4
Campaign says a judge should be impartial, treat everyone with dignity and "Apply the law- not ideology" [S1].11
Praise & support
Experience across criminal, juvenile, civil and government law gives breadth for any assignment. — Anna Slotky Reitano, Reitano campaign11,1
Has broader endorsements, including newspapers and elected leaders; MetNews's objections are pedantic. — Daniel Faigin (cahighways.org)2
Has admirable determination and would serve conscientiously. — Metropolitan News-Enterprise8
Criticism & concerns
Her 2022 run on a slate organized by a left-wing funding group, with no campaign of her own, undermines confidence in her independence. — Metropolitan News-Enterprise8
Relied on a non-lawyer consultant for an improper ballot designation; likely to defer to others rather than judge independently. — Metropolitan News-Enterprise8
Where sources disagree
Current job: a blog says she works as a public defender [S10]; LAist and the LA Times say deputy county counsel [S9, S11].3,2,1
What we could not find
No questionnaire answers, interviews or forum transcripts; LAist's survey answers were not captured.
Her endorsement list was not captured (page returned the home page).
No court filings, briefs or named cases.
No 2022 campaign materials in her own words.
No campaign-finance records.
Questions to consider
How does she respond to MetNews's concerns about the 2022 slate and her independence?
Which specific trials or cases best show her courtroom work?
How much of her experience is on the prosecution side beyond a law clerkship?
Analysis of their legal writing and words
Written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session from 1 primary text11. An evaluative machine reading: check each point against its quoted evidence.
Coverage: One sample: the home page of Reitano's campaign website (S1, undated, about 2,900 characters), written in the third person. No questionnaire answers, interviews, debate or forum transcripts, briefs, or case filings were found. LAist's candidate survey answers and her endorsement page were not captured.
insufficient_evidence for a legal philosophy. The page stresses constitutional fairness, due process and impartiality, and says a judge should "Apply the law- not ideology," but states no interpretive method or position on contested legal questions.
In their words: The campaign calls her "TRIAL-TESTED" and "BALANCED," with "A Career Built on Every Side of the Justice System."
Articulation: Not enough evidenceConsistency: Not enough evidence
Articulation. The page is clearly organized and specific about her career path (public defender, juvenile defense, county counsel), but it is promotional copy, names no cases, and offers no reasoning on legal questions. No unscripted speech was available.
Consistency. A single undated sample allows no comparison across time or settings.
Positions
Judicial role: Judges should decide impartially and apply the law rather than ideology.
Claims of scale ("representing thousands of people") are stated without supporting detail.
Frames her varied roles as "Every Side" of the system; the page's prosecution-side experience is a law clerkship in the DA's office.
Limits: Based on one scripted campaign page. Statements she gave to the LA Times are reported in news guides but are not her own texts and are not analyzed here. Nothing here shows how she would rule.
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Los Angeles Times race guide (Jon Regardie, Oct. 20, 2026) for the Office 65 runoff, in which both candidates have public-defender backgrounds and are rated Qualified by LACBA. It says Anna Slotky Reitano began in criminal defense, contract law and other sectors, joined the L.A. County public defender's office in 2014 (three years in juvenile court, five at the San Fernando Courthouse on felonies), focused on mental-health diversion and treatment, lost a 2022 judicial race, and in 2024 joined the county counsel's justice and safety division, where she supervises litigation and advises county departments.
Reitano is rated Qualified by LACBA, as is her opponent.
She focused on mental health diversion and treatment, informed by a brother with schizophrenia.
She lost a 2022 judicial campaign.
She is a former child actor, volunteers with local schools, and mentors through moot court, per her website as reported.
She says voters want "a judge who is experienced, prepared, fair and willing to listen."
Facts, claims & caveats
Clayton LACBA rating
Qualified
Reitano LACBA rating
Qualified
Clayton bar admission (per LAT)
2012
Clayton joined public defender's office
Two years after bar admission (per LAT)
Clayton current role
Deputy in charge, Inglewood branch, L.A. County Public Defender, since 2023
Clayton trials
Dozens, including three with life sentences, per his website as reported by LAT
Reitano joined public defender's office
2014
Reitano public-defender assignments
Three years juvenile court (mostly felonies); five years San Fernando Courthouse felonies
Reitano current role
Deputy county counsel, justice and safety division (assumed 2024, per LAT)
Reitano prior run
Lost a 2022 judicial race
Clayton says a priority is improving court efficiency through pretrial preparation and "firm but fair enforcement of deadlines."
Clayton says running a branch office plus 14 years as a trial attorney gives him a "comprehensive understanding" of the courtroom.
Reitano says having a brother with schizophrenia gave her "a deeper understanding" of the challenges families face and how the system can fall short.
Reitano says her experience across criminal, juvenile, civil, administrative and government law "has uniquely prepared me to serve wherever the court needs me."
Limits: A short newspaper guide based largely on the candidates' own statements and websites; it does not independently verify her caseload or describe specific cases. It does not endorse.
Date stated in the document. Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
A personal ballot-analysis blog (Daniel Faigin) covering the Office 65 runoff. It profiles Anna Slotky Reitano (former child actor in The Torkelsons, UC Davis JD, admitted 2009), reprints MetNews's criticism of her 2022 slate campaign and ballot designation, dismisses that criticism as pedantic, and picks her while calling the race a coin toss.
Picks Reitano, citing her broader endorsements; calls both candidates good.
Rejects MetNews's objections to her 2022 "Defenders of Justice" slate and ballot designation.
Describes her as a public defender, which conflicts with other sources listing her as deputy county counsel.
Facts, claims & caveats
LACBA ratings
Both Qualified
Clayton education (per blog)
BA criminology, Univ. of New Mexico 2006; JD Thomas Jefferson School of Law 2011
Reitano education (per blog)
JD, UC Davis; admitted 2009
Blogger's pick
Anna Slotky Reitano
Blogger Daniel Faigin calls Office 65 "really a coin toss: Both candidates are good," and concludes for Reitano, whom he also backed in the primary.
Faigin calls MetNews's criticisms of Reitano (her 2022 slate and her ballot designation) "overly pedantic."
Faigin says Reitano has a much broader set of endorsements, including newspapers and elected leaders, while Clayton has Democratic clubs, affinity groups and many judges.
Limits: One blogger's personal opinion. Its statement that she currently works as a public defender is contradicted by LAist and the LA Times.
LAist's general-election guide to the four L.A. County Superior Court runoffs. Its Office 65 entry lists Anna Slotky Reitano as a deputy county counsel for the County of Los Angeles, links her campaign website (reitanoforjudge.com), endorsement page and State Bar profile, and reports her LACBA rating as Qualified. The rest of the page is general advice on evaluating judicial candidates.
Reitano: deputy county counsel, County of Los Angeles; LACBA rating Qualified.
Her opponent, Justin Allen Clayton, is also rated Qualified.
No Reitano survey answers are visible in the stored text.
Facts, claims & caveats
Office 65 candidates
Justin Allen Clayton; Anna Slotky Reitano
Clayton occupation (per LAist)
Deputy public defender, County of Los Angeles
Clayton LACBA rating
Qualified
Reitano occupation (per LAist)
Deputy county counsel, County of Los Angeles
Reitano LACBA rating
Qualified
Contests on Nov. 3 ballot
Four Superior Court offices (64, 65, 87, 131), eight candidates
Retired Judge Stuart Rice, quoted by LAist, says judicial demeanor is the most important quality: treating everyone "the same" and with respect.
Rice says candidates in these nonpartisan races "really want to get the endorsement of the Democratic Party" because L.A. is overwhelmingly Democratic.
Limits: Listing-style entry: occupation, website, State Bar link and LACBA rating only. LAist says it ran a candidate survey, but no Office 65 survey answers appear in the stored text (they may sit in collapsed page sections not captured). Endorsements are not listed; readers are pointed to campaign sites.
Los Angeles Times primary guide (May 1, 2026) to every competitive L.A. Superior Court race. Its Office 65 section profiles four Qualified-rated candidates. It says Anna Slotky Reitano, admitted in 2009, worked over 10 years in the public defender's office (three years juvenile, five years adult felony trials), joined the county counsel's Justice and Safety Division in May 2024, would prioritize trust in the legal system and access to justice through clear communication and interpreters, and lost a 2022 judicial run.
Reitano says she focused on mental-health diversion and treatment for amenable clients.
She cites experience in defense, prosecution and civil litigation.
She aims to improve access to justice via communication and interpreter availability.
Her approach, she says, is informed by a brother with schizophrenia.
Facts, claims & caveats
Office 65 primary field
Clayton, Jimenez, Krause, Reitano; all rated Qualified
Clayton caseload (per LAT)
More than 1,000 adult and hundreds of juvenile cases in a decade as a public defender
Clayton license
2012
Reitano bar admission
2009
Reitano public-defender tenure
Over 10 years, per LAT
Reitano joined county counsel
May 2024
Clayton says encouraging settlement discussions and ensuring all parties are prepared would "reduce unnecessary delays while protecting each litigant's right to be heard."
Reitano says she focused on "mental health diversion and treatment to support rehabilitation in cases where the client was amenable."
Reitano says she aims to enhance "access to justice" through clear communication and consistent availability of interpreters.
Limits: Primary-season profile; the guide does not detail her prosecution experience or name specific cases.
Date stated in the document. Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
LAist's guide to the June 2, 2026 primary for L.A. County Superior Court. In Office 65 it lists four candidates, all rated Qualified by LACBA, including Anna Slotky Reitano, identified as a deputy county counsel for the County of Los Angeles, with links to her website and State Bar profile.
Reitano was one of four Office 65 primary candidates.
All four, including Reitano, were rated Qualified by LACBA.
No survey response from Reitano is visible in the stored text.
Facts, claims & caveats
Office 65 primary field
Justin Allen Clayton; Chellei G. Jimenez; Samuel Wolloch Krause; Anna Slotky Reitano
LACBA ratings in Office 65 (per LAist)
All four rated Qualified
Clayton occupation
Deputy public defender, County of Los Angeles
Reitano occupation
Deputy county counsel, County of Los Angeles
Jimenez occupation
Attorney
Krause occupation
Attorney/legal author
Limits: Primary-season listing (April 2026) with occupation, website and LACBA rating only. LAist says it published candidate survey answers, but none for Office 65 appear in the stored text. Does not report the primary result.
Los Angeles County Bar Associationbar evaluationNeutral
The LA County Bar Association Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee's final 2026 report. It rates Anna S. Reitano "Qualified" for Office 65, the same rating given to all four primary candidates in that race. Several other 2026 candidates received Well Qualified or higher.
Anna S. Reitano: Qualified.
Every Office 65 candidate received the same rating.
The report gives no reasons for individual ratings.
LAist explainer (April 2026, updated July 2026) on how the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee rates Superior Court candidates. It does not mention Anna Slotky Reitano or Office 65; it is useful only as background on what a LACBA rating (such as the "Qualified" rating other sources report for this candidate) means.
LACBA is a voluntary, private bar association, separate from the State Bar.
Candidates submit a detailed questionnaire and 50 to 75 references; committee members interview at least 25 people per candidate, then the candidate.
Ratings are individual, not comparative among candidates for the same seat.
"Qualified" requires a majority of voting members and means the candidate has the qualities to serve as a satisfactory judge.
Candidates rated Qualified or Not Qualified may appeal; reasons for ratings are not made public.
Facts, claims & caveats
Rating scale
Exceptionally Well Qualified, Well Qualified, Qualified, Not Qualified
Vote threshold for Qualified
More than 50% of committee members voting
Vote threshold for Well Qualified
More than 60%
Vote threshold for Exceptionally Well Qualified
More than 75% of members present
Committee size (this round, per LAist)
40 members
JEEC chair
Susan Schwartz
LACBA JEEC chair Susan Schwartz says negative comments from references are not accepted at face value and are checked against others present.
Schwartz says investigations are confidential so that references can be candid.
LAist notes that some past candidates have questioned whether women, people of color, or those with defense experience are evaluated fairly; Schwartz said the committee responded with implicit-bias training.
LAist cautions that the ratings are the opinion of a private, volunteer membership group unaffiliated with the State Bar.
Limits: Explains the rating process in general; it does not name or rate the Office 65 candidates. Reasons behind any individual rating are confidential and not disclosed here.
Metropolitan News-Enterprisethird party analysisMixed
Metropolitan News-Enterprise primary editorial on Office 65 that endorses Chellei Jimenez and is sharply critical of Anna Slotky Reitano. It credits her determination and conscientiousness but faults her 2022 run on the "Defenders of Justice" slate, which it says was run by a left-wing funding group, and her attempt to add "Justice and Safety Division" to her ballot designation on a consultant's advice. It concludes she might function adequately but would likely defer to others rather than judge independently.
Says she did not run her own 2022 campaign.
Accepts that she personally took no extremist stances.
Registrar struck part of her requested ballot designation.
Questions her independent judgment.
Facts, claims & caveats
MetNews primary endorsement, Office 65
Chellei G. Jimenez
Clayton 2024-25 office evaluation (per MetNews)
Overall "competent"; prior report "very good"
Clayton law school
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (not ABA-accredited, per MetNews)
Reitano 2022 run
Part of the "Defenders of Justice" slate
Reitano ballot designation
Registrar removed "Justice and Safety Division" from her requested designation
MetNews says Reitano's 2022 slate was staged by a group that funds left-wing causes and that merging her identity with it impedes confidence in her objectivity.
MetNews calls Reitano's reliance on a non-lawyer consultant's advice on her ballot designation "pathetic" and doubts she would exercise independent judgment.
MetNews reports Reitano says she personally did not take extremist stances, which it accepts as true.
Limits: An opinion piece from the primary; the endorsed candidate did not advance. Reitano's side is reported only through MetNews's description. The stored text drops some punctuation and her email signature block.
Date stated in the document. Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
Home page of Anna Slotky Reitano's campaign site. It casts her as a trial-tested, balanced candidate with experience on "every side" of the justice system: DA's-office law clerk, representing public-safety employees, over a decade as a deputy public defender (three years defending children), and now a deputy county counsel supervising civil litigation and advising justice and safety departments. It argues breadth of experience makes for impartial, efficient, respectful judging.
Claims thousands of clients and complex trials.
Says constitutional fairness is the foundation of every decision.
Lists judicial goals: impartial decisions, dignity for all, efficient courtroom, "Apply the law- not ideology."
Facts, claims & caveats
Slogan
Trial-tested, balanced, ready on day one
Experience claimed
Over 10 years deputy public defender; 3 years defending children; certified law clerk in DA's office; represented public safety employees; now deputy county counsel, Justice and Safety Division
Years as attorney (claimed)
Over 17; nearly 20 years of public service
FPPC ID
1487582
The campaign says she handled serious felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases, "representing thousands of people."
The campaign says breadth across criminal, juvenile, civil and government law lets a judge "Apply the law- not ideology."
Limits: Campaign self-description; names no specific cases. The endorsement page returned this same text, so her endorsement list was not captured.
Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
Reitano for JudgeendorsementSupportslink duplicate
Home page of Anna Slotky Reitano's campaign site. It casts her as a trial-tested, balanced candidate with experience on "every side" of the justice system: DA's-office law clerk, representing public-safety employees, over a decade as a deputy public defender (three years defending children), and now a deputy county counsel supervising civil litigation and advising justice and safety departments. It argues breadth of experience makes for impartial, efficient, respectful judging.
Claims thousands of clients and complex trials.
Says constitutional fairness is the foundation of every decision.
Lists judicial goals: impartial decisions, dignity for all, efficient courtroom, "Apply the law- not ideology."
Facts, claims & caveats
Slogan
Trial-tested, balanced, ready on day one
Experience claimed
Over 10 years deputy public defender; 3 years defending children; certified law clerk in DA's office; represented public safety employees; now deputy county counsel, Justice and Safety Division
Years as attorney (claimed)
Over 17; nearly 20 years of public service
FPPC ID
1487582
The campaign says she handled serious felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases, "representing thousands of people."
The campaign says breadth across criminal, juvenile, civil and government law lets a judge "Apply the law- not ideology."
Limits: Campaign self-description; names no specific cases. The endorsement page returned this same text, so her endorsement list was not captured.
Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
Reitano for JudgeendorsementSupportslink duplicate
Home page of Anna Slotky Reitano's campaign site. It casts her as a trial-tested, balanced candidate with experience on "every side" of the justice system: DA's-office law clerk, representing public-safety employees, over a decade as a deputy public defender (three years defending children), and now a deputy county counsel supervising civil litigation and advising justice and safety departments. It argues breadth of experience makes for impartial, efficient, respectful judging.
Claims thousands of clients and complex trials.
Says constitutional fairness is the foundation of every decision.
Lists judicial goals: impartial decisions, dignity for all, efficient courtroom, "Apply the law- not ideology."
Facts, claims & caveats
Slogan
Trial-tested, balanced, ready on day one
Experience claimed
Over 10 years deputy public defender; 3 years defending children; certified law clerk in DA's office; represented public safety employees; now deputy county counsel, Justice and Safety Division
Years as attorney (claimed)
Over 17; nearly 20 years of public service
FPPC ID
1487582
The campaign says she handled serious felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases, "representing thousands of people."
The campaign says breadth across criminal, juvenile, civil and government law lets a judge "Apply the law- not ideology."
Limits: Campaign self-description; names no specific cases. The endorsement page returned this same text, so her endorsement list was not captured.
Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
MetNews reference chart of 2026 L.A. Superior Court candidates listing ballot designation, law school and admission year. It lists Reitano: University of California, Davis, 2009. MetNews endorsed no one in the final Office 65 field.
Reitano: University of California, Davis, 2009
Facts, claims & caveats
Office 65 entry
Reitano: University of California, Davis, 2009
Limits: A one-line reference entry; the column headings are partly garbled in the stored text, and the year is presumed to be admission year.
Date stated in the document. Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.
State Bar of California profile for Anna RS Reitano (aka Anna Slotky, #263383): active license, admitted June 4, 2009, no discipline or administrative actions listed, UC Davis law school, government practice, address at L.A. County Counsel.
Active, no public discipline.
Admitted 2009.
Facts, claims & caveats
License
#263383, Active (listed as Anna RS Reitano, aka Anna Slotky)
Admitted
2009-06-04
Discipline
None shown
Law school
UC Davis School of Law (King Hall)
Practice area (self-reported)
Government
Address of record
Los Angeles County Counsel
Limits: Shows only public discipline; some administrative suspensions are removed by policy.
Summary written 2026-10-29 in an operator-run Claude session. Link checked 2026-10-28.