On April 19, BASF, with the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, hosted a judicial candidates forum for the contested election for San Francisco Superior Court Seat 7. The Seat 7 candidates, Paul Henderson, Victor Hwang and Sigrid Irias, participated and the forum was moderated by BASF Board Member David Carrillo.

On April 26, BASF’s Judiciary Committee released its evaluations of the three candidates. Following the Judiciary Committee’s investigation, interview of the candidates, and deliberations, the committee finds the Seat 7 candidates:

Victor Hwang — “Exceptionally Well-Qualified”
Paul Henderson — “Well-Qualified”
Sigrid Irias — “Well-Qualified”

Paul Henderson and Sigrid Irias are members of BASF; Victor Hwang is not a member of BASF.

The Judiciary Committee is charged with the task of evaluating candidates seeking appointment and election to the Superior Court for the State of California, in and for the City and County of San Francisco.

The Judiciary Committee, chaired by Belinda Lee, a partner at Latham & Watkins, is composed of a diverse cross-section of the San Francisco legal community. Members come from large, medium and small law firms; government legal offices; and corporate legal departments.

Each candidate was asked to complete and submit the same questionnaire used by the Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE) Commission, in addition to appearing for a personal interview with the committee. The committee also conducted its own investigation by interviewing judges, lawyers and others having knowledge of the candidate’s attributes. The committee’s investigation and deliberations are completely confidential.

In assessing the qualification of a candidate, the committee members assign one of following categories defined in BASF’s bylaws:

(i) “Qualified”
(ii) “Well-Qualified”
(iii) “Exceptionally Well-Qualified”
(iv) “Not Recommended
(v) “Not Qualified”
(vi) “No Action”