Lawrence Joseph Mira (born August 9, 1942) is an American lawyer and jurist who is currently serving as a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Known by some as "Judge to the Stars", Mira's name has been mentioned in numerous high-profile and celebrity arrests due to the region his courtroom serves. Mira attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

for both his undergraduate studies and law school, then was admitted to the bar in August 1970 and practiced criminal law both privately and as a deputy district attorney. In 1986, he was appointed by Governor

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

as a judge for the Malibu Municipal Court. He was challenged by a local attorney in 1988 who was dissatisfied with his administration of the municipal court, but won that election and remained a municipal court judge until the municipal courts in Los Angeles County were merged with the Superior Court in 2000. As part of the unification process, he became a judge for the Superior Court, while continuing to be assigned to Malibu. In the 2012 election, he faced no opposition and consequently was reelected to a new six-year term.

Notable defendants

Brandon Hein Brandon Wade Hein (born February 17, 1977) was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for his involvement in the 1995 stabbing murder of 16-year-old Jimmy Farris, the son of a Los Angeles Police Department officer. Hein and ...

* Robert Downey, Jr. *

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

* Nicole Richie *

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mira, Lawrence Joseph California state court judges 1942 births Living people Superior court judges in the United States Loyola Marymount University alumni