David Dejute seeks LA Superior Court Office 87 seat

David Dejute, a former assistant U.S. attorney and current law firm counsel, is running for Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 87. Anthony Bayne is also running for the nonpartisan seat, according to BallotReady. Both candidates are certified for the ballot.

Dejute holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and brings more than a decade of federal courtroom experience to the race, according to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise. The Office 87 contest is one of several open Los Angeles Superior Court seats on the November general election ballot, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise reported.

Candidate information

Name: David Dejute
Office sought: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, Office 87
Party: Nonpartisan
Election date: Nov. 3
Education: J.D. from Harvard Law School

Experience and public service

Dejute served as an assistant U.S. attorney for more than 11 years before resigning on June 30, 2017, according to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise. During that tenure, he argued before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011 on behalf of the federal government in Drake v. Obama. The case challenged President Obama's legitimacy as a reelection candidate based on claims he was not a natural-born citizen. Dejute successfully defended Obama in both the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit.

He is of counsel with the Los Angeles office of Michelman & Robinson LLP, where he specializes in complex litigation, according to the firm's website.

Dejute also serves as adjunct professor and director of the Pepperdine Caruso Disaster Relief Clinic at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law.

He first sought a seat in 2018. He filed a declaration of intent for a Los Angeles Superior Court position but did not file nominating papers, citing personal and private reasons for his departure from that race, the Metropolitan News-Enterprise reported.