Your guide to the L.A. County Superior Court Judge Office 131 election

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Set us as preferred This runoff for a vacant seat on the bench features a longtime public defender running against a veteran alternate public defender.Both boast extensive trial experience.Donna Tryfman, a deputy public defender, serves in the major cases unit, where she handles homicide and other high-profile defendants.

She also has extensive experience in juvenile cases.David Ross is an alternate in the Torrance branch of the public defenders office and also works in Bellflower and Long Beach.He claims to have represented more than 10,000 clients at hearings and in trials.

The Los Angeles County Bar Assn.rates both attorneys as “qualified” for office.

Here’s more of what you need to know about the candidates.California California’s general election takes place on Novemer 3.

Learn about L.A.’s city and county races as well races for state office.Donna Tryfman, L.A.

County deputy public defenderBar rating: QualifiedTryfman began with the public defender’s office in 1998, logging more than 100 jury trials.Her experience includes supervising Eastlake Juvenile Court, where she ran a branch with 15 lawyers and represented clients in the collaborative drug court.

She is stationed in the major cases unit, focusing on capital homicide litigation.Tryfman has served as a Superior Court judge pro tem, handling traffic and small claims cases.She has proctored teen courts at Dorsey and Hamilton high schools and last year received the peer-bestowed Gideon felony attorney of the year award.Conversations on the campaign trail have helped her understand what works and what doesn’t in the justice system.“It has reinforced for me that experience and knowledge of the law matter enormously, but so does how people are treated when they walk into a courtroom,” she said.

Tryfman said the heavy caseload of a public defender has prepared her for the bench’s rigors.She also cited her life experience as the dau...