Ben Forer, a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, is running for Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 66. The nonpartisan race appears on the Nov. 3 California general election ballot. South Bay voters will see the contest on their ballots.

Forer, according to his campaign website, said he has spent his career in the District Attorney's Office and wants to bring that experience to the bench. He said on his campaign site that everyone entering a courtroom deserves a judge "who listens, who knows the law, and who treats them with dignity and respect."

Candidate information

  • Hometown: Born in Brooklyn, raised in Toronto, according to his campaign website
  • Family: Father of four children, according to his campaign website
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from York University (2002); juris doctor from Southwestern Law School (2005), according to Ballotpedia
  • Other: Ordained rabbi, according to his campaign website

Experience and public service

Forer has served as a deputy district attorney in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office since 2006, according to his campaign website. He said he is the lead prosecutor in the office's Cyber Crimes Division.

He is also an adjunct assistant professor of technology and applied computing practice at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, according to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise.

Forer said on his campaign site that he collaborated with psychiatrists and psychologists to develop diversion programs and treatment plans for justice-involved people with mental illness. He said he volunteered weekly at Alta Loma Elementary School for four years, teaching fifth-grade law and civics. He continues outreach to high schools on cyberbullying, privacy and constitutional rights, according to his campaign site.

He has authored legal textbooks including "Law Without Borders: Law in a Cyber Universe" and "Privacy & Cyber Law: Cases & Materials," and has published on digital evidence, Fourth Amendment issues and emerging technologies in criminal law, according to his campaign website.

Endorsements

The following endorsements are listed on Forer's campaign website and confirmed through their respective sources:

Candidate responses were gathered from Forer's campaign website and public sources. South Bay Tide did not interview the candidate for this profile.