Term Limits for D.A., Assessor Voided Another Judicial Tyrany)

L A Times ^ | March 15, 2006 | Noam N. Levey

[radar101]

Striking another blow to term limits for Los Angeles County officeholders, a judge said Tuesday she would toss out voter-approved caps on the district attorney and assessor.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Soussan Bruguera hasn't finalized her ruling, but it is all but certain that Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and Assessor Rick Auerbach, like Sheriff Lee Baca before them, will be free to serve as many terms as they — and the voters — please.

All three officials argued that their offices, which are governed by the state Constitution, could not be limited by county voters.

Tuesday's ruling represented a rare victory for elected officials, who locally and statewide have challenged term limits almost since the movement to enact them began sweeping the nation more than a decade ago.

A lawmaker-backed initiative to loosen the 1990 limits on state legislators' terms failed four years ago

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The judge should run for office.

[middie]

Would it have been better for the judge to disregard the Calif. Constitution governing ''constitutional'' officers? Local officials can be subject to local votes concerning lengths of terms and their number. Elected officials established and governed by the state constitution can be governed and limited only by amendment to that document. That clearly correct doctrine was established beyond letigitimate challenge when several states attempted to limit the number of terms their members of Congess could serve. The U.S. Constitution provides for those officials and thus states cannot interfere with the terms thereof under the Supremacy Clause. It's not a difficult or complex issue, it's really simple and a no-brainer that makes it surprising that a county would attempt the circumvention apparently done by L.A. County.

[zzen01]

CaliPorina is beyond hope.

[goldstategop]

Don't charter counties like L.A set these details in their local charters? I thought the argument applied to counties that choose to be governed by state law as opposed to a charter.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")