Joyce Karlin Fahey
Joyce A. Karlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Other names | Joyce Karlin Fahey |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, judge |
Joyce A. Karlin (born January 5, 1951) was a federal prosecutor, Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, and then a two-term mayor of Manhattan Beach, California. She now works as a private arbitrator and mediator.
Karlin received her J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1974. From 1977 to 1991, Karlin was an assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. She helped develop and prosecute some of the government's most important drug cases[1]—among them the case against defendants in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena.[2] She also prosecuted child pornography cases.
Karlin was elected in spring 1992 to California's Superior Court. She received 51% of the vote, soundly defeating four other candidates. She retired from the Court in 1997.[3]
Under the name Joyce Fahey she served two terms as on the city council (1999–2007) of Manhattan Beach, California and was twice appointed mayor. (The mayor of Manhattan Beach rotates through the city council every 9 months.)[4]
Controversy
Karlin was involved in a controversy over the ruling of a criminal case in which she was a presiding judge. In March 1991, Soon Ja Du, a Korean-American immigrant grocer, shot and killed Latasha Harlins, a 15 year old African American girl. The incident started when Du insinuated that Harlins was stealing a bottle of orange juice, grabbed Harlins by the sweater, and attempted to confiscate her backpack. Harlins punched the 51 year old woman in the face multiple times with her fists. Then as Harlins was walking away Du shot her in the back of the head with a single shot from a revolver killing her instantly. The revolver was under the counter of the store and was kept there because the store had been robbed several times in the past[citation needed]. The gun had been altered to have a hair trigger.[citation needed] Ms. Du was working that day for the first time in the store.[citation needed] She was filling in for the regular worker scheduled but who was sick that day. She was unaware of the alteration to the gun.[citation needed]
In the criminal trial that ensued, People v. Soon Ja Du, a jury convicted the grocer of voluntary manslaughter. It was left to Karlin, a newly appointed judge, to impose the sentence. Judge Karlin overturned the jury verdict of Voluntary Manslaughter.[citation needed] Karlin ruled that the evidence merited the lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter. In line with the lesser crime and facts she reduced the sentence to probation of five years, four hundred hours of community service, and a $500 fine. She acknowledged that use of a firearm generally leads to a presumption against probation, but she decided that Du's case had several factors that created an unusual circumstance overcoming the presumption and justified the reduction to involuntary manslaughter.
Karlin’s decision not to send Du to jail was met with profound dismay and protest[5] from the African American community and inflamed the existing tension between Korean American merchants and African American community activists.[6] An attempt was made to recall her, and then-district attorney Ira Reiner instituted a policy that disqualified her from trying felonies.[7]