Joyce Ann Karlin Fahey
(born January 5, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician. She served as both a federal prosecutor and a
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
Superior Court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
. She is known for having sentenced Soon Ja Du, the merchant who killed 15 year old
Latasha Harlins
Latasha Harlins (January 1, 1976 – March 16, 1991) was an African-American girl who was fatally shot at age 15 by Soon Ja Du ( ko, 두순자) after Latasha knocked Soon Ja Du to the ground, a 51-year-old Korean-American convenience store owner ...
with a fatal shot to the back of her head, to only five years' probation and 400 hours of community service, with no jail time. The sentence was widely condemned, including by the
LA County District Attorney and black community leaders in Los Angeles,
and is often cited as a catalyst for the
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
.
Early life and education
Karlin was born in
Caracas
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
During her childhood, Karlin lived in several countries including Italy, Germany and Argentina.
Her family moved to Chicago. Karlin received a degree from the
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the law school of Loyola University Chicago, in Illinois. Established in 1909, by the Society of Jesus, the Roman Catholic order of the Jesuits, the School of Law is located in downtown Chicago. Loyol ...
in 1974.
Career
Karlin was employed by defense attorneys in Chicago and Los Angeles.
She served as an assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. She presided over the case of former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent
Darnell Garcia.
Karlin became a Superior Court judge in 1991 and that year, she presided over the controversial
voluntary manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender acted during ''the heat of passion'', under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot ...
case involving the
death of Latasha Harlins.
Karlin's light sentencing was seen in contrast to her more severe sentencing of a Glendale man for kicking a dog a week later,
and was met with outrage and protest from the African-American community. It is the opinion of historians that the decision fueled the racial unrest the black community was already feeling in the aftermath of the
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
beating and possibly contributed to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The Los Angeles County District Attorney issued a "blanket
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
policy", that disallowed Karlin from judging felony cases "involving violent crimes."
Karlin defended her ruling stating that "The orange juice has nothing to do with anything. A woman was severely beaten and responded to the beating.″ adding that 15 year old Harlins was shot "in the heat of battle".
In 1992, an effort to recall Karlin narrowly failed.
Karlin was elected in spring 1992 to California's Superior Court. She received 51% of the vote, defeating four other candidates. In 1997, Karlin retired from her position as a judge.
She was later elected to the
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...
city council
The Beach Reporter, July 30, 2008
/ref> and in 2002 served a rotation as mayor, per the system used for Manhattan Beach. Since retiring from the bench she has used her husband, Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey's surname.
In 2003, a rival candidate for City Council formally filed a claim of invasion of privacy
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 194 ...
against Karlin when she obtained the candidate's social security number and used to subsequently released details of her opponent's education to the public. Superior Court Judge Willaim Willett granted Karlin's motion to dismiss citing California's anti-SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with ...
law.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karlin, Joyce
Living people
California state court judges
Mayors of places in California
Women city councillors in California
1951 births
People from Caracas
People from Manhattan Beach, California
Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni
Superior court judges in the United States
Venezuelan emigrants to the United States
20th-century American judges
20th-century American women judges
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
20th-century American lawyers
California city council members
Women mayors of places in California