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Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 87

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Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 87

This person holds a countywide seat on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. This is the state trial court. The term is six years.

This race is headed to a November 3 runoff. One finalist is Deputy Public Defender A.J. Bayne, with 42%. The other is former federal prosecutor David DeJute, with 31.3%. It is a real contrast in legal careers.

The winner serves a six-year term on the county's trial bench, assigned anywhere from criminal and civil to family and probate court. Trial judges rule alone — their decisions are checked mainly on appeal — so the person matters more than in almost any other down-ballot office.

This race offers the clearest contrast in legal background of any judicial contest on the ballot: a quarter-century in the county's criminal courts against a career in federal prosecution and corporate litigation. Both are qualified; the county bar rated one Well Qualified and the other Qualified. Weigh whether you want a judge who already knows the day-to-day of the courts this seat serves, or one bringing experience from outside them.

Anthony (A.J.) Bayne

Anthony "A.J." Bayne has been a Deputy Public Defender for about 25 years. He spent 19 of them at the Compton courthouse. The county bar rated him Well Qualified, the only one in this race. Both the establishment legal press and the progressive guides endorsed him. That is a rare consensus.

David Dejute

David Dejute is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney. They are a former VP of litigation at Sony Pictures. They are now in private practice and teach at Pepperdine's law school. The county bar rated Dejute Qualified. Dejute's résumé was built mostly outside the criminal courtrooms this seat serves.

Financial info

David Dejute

  • Small donors$00%

No campaign statements for Anthony (A.J.) Bayne are on file yet; filings are searchable on the county's campaign-finance disclosure site.

Total raised is each calendar year's cumulative (Form 460 Summary line 5) from that year's latest filing, summed for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are filings through 2025-06-30, per the county's NetFile e-filing data, retrieved 2026-09-21.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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