SLO County redistricting lawsuit has a new judge. Here’s who will hear case
A new judge will hear San Luis Obispo County’s redistricting case.
The case was originally assigned to San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Rita Federman, but she recused herself in October.
The court has since reassigned the case to San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen, according to an Oct. 11 court document.
Local group San Luis Obispo County Citizens for Good Government filed a lawsuit against the county in January, arguing that the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors “wrongly applied and flagrantly ignored the redistricting requirements set forth under California’s Fair Maps Act” when they adopted a controversial new district map known as the Patten Map.
The map changed the boundaries of the five different districts represented by the board.
According to a Tribune analysis, the Patten Map favors Republican voters, as it moved most Democratic voters into two coastal districts: Districts 3 and 5. Voters in Districts 1, 2 and 4 lean Republican.
In February, Federman ruled that the map could be used in the June and November 2022 elections, and a California Superior Court refused to hear an appeal on Federman’s decision.
Still, SLO County Citizens for Good Government continues its fight to disqualify the map.
The case’s next hearing will be on Dec. 2 in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, according to court spokesperson Nikki Rodriguez.
Why did SLO judge drop redistricting case?
According to court documents, Federman declared “self disqualification” from the redistricting case in October, citing California penal code.
Under California penal code, a judge can recuse themself because they believe their recusal would “further the interests of justice” or that “there is a substantial doubt as to (their) capacity to be impartial.”
Another reason for recusal is if “A person aware of the facts might reasonably entertain a doubt that the judge would be able to be impartial,” penal code says.
Federman did not specify why she was recusing herself.
In its Oct. 24 newsletter, SLO County Citizens for Good Government said that judges can recuse themselves from a case without explaining their reasoning, and they don’t know the details about why Federman dropped the case.
“We are confident, however, that it was not a reflection on the strength of our case and we remain confident that regardless of the judge we will prevail,” the newsletter said.
Federman’s replacement, van Rooyen, is the presiding judge at San Luis Obispo Superior Court, according to the court’s website.
Once a prosecutor at the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, van Rooyen was appointed to the Superior Court bench in 2016 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.
The judge has handled multiple high-profile cases, including the preliminary hearings leading up to the Kristin Smart murder trial.
He ruled to move the trial to Monterey County, where a jury found Paul Flores guilty of murdering Smart.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 1:59 PM.
