| Joyce A. Karlin | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Residence | Manhattan Beach, California |
| Other names | Joyce Karlin Fahey |
| Occupation | Lawyer, judge |
Joyce A. Karlin, now Joyce Karlin Fahey, 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 elected mayor.[4]
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 mistakenly thought Harlins was stealing a bottle of orange juice. A physical confrontation between the two ensued. Afterwards, while Harlins was leaving, Du shot her in the back of the head, killing her instantly.
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. Karlin gave Du a suspended sentence with probation, a fine, and four hundred hours of community service. 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.
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]