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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer, Supervising Judge of the Compton Courthouse, will be presented with this year’s Outstanding Jurist Award for his distinguished career on the bench and contributions to the community and practice of law.
Judge Filer has dedicated his life to public service. After spending two years with the State Public Defenders office, he has spent over three decades on the bench. Born and raised in Compton, Judge Filer is universally praised for his judicial independence, intellect, judicial temperament and integrity as well as his continued support for the youth in his community through school programs and organizations such as the Southern California Junior Cricket Academy. He has made extraordinary efforts to inspire and open doors for underprivileged and at-risk youth.
In July 1993, Judge Filer was selected to the judicial bench as a commissioner for the Compton Municipal Court. He later served as a Superior Court Commissioner after the courts' unification in 2000. On August 8, 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed him as a judge of the Superior Court in Los Angeles.
During his time as a public defender, Judge Filer argued and won a landmark case before the California Supreme Court, People v. Taylor (1982) 31 Cal.3d 488. In 1982, he opened a private law practice in his hometown and maintained a general criminal/civil practice emphasizing criminal defense work.
After graduating from Compton High School in 1973, he attended the University of California at Santa Cruz and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977. He subsequently received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 1980. That same year, Judge Filer started practicing law as a Deputy State Public Defender. →FULL BIO
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