About Jay
Jay graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with honors in 1987. After a year substitute teaching in Los Angeles, Jay attended UC Berkeley School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1991.
After leaving law school, Jay was a law clerk for the Honorable William A. Ingram of the Federal District Court, Northern District of California, one of Santa Clara County’s most revered judges. Following that clerkship, Jay was a civil litigator at the San Francisco law firm of Steefel, Levitt & Weiss (now known
as Manatt, Phelps & Phillips).
Jay is now the Chief Assistant District Attorney for Santa Clara County—Northern California’s
largest District Attorneys’ office.
As second-in-command to DA Jeff Rosen, Jay is responsible for the daily operations of the office
of six hundred public servants, including more than 190 prosecutors.
As a prosecutor, Jay has been a strong and effective advocate for public safety and victims’ rights, particularly the rights of women and children who have been sexually assaulted and abused.
Before being promoted to leadership in the office, Jay prosecuted 35 jury trials. Jay supervised more than 40 attorneys and support staff when he was selected by former District Attorney George Kennedy to run the DA’s North County offices in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale from 2001 to 2007.
Jay has worked on various teams within the District Attorney’s Office during nearly three decades of service. In particular, his expertise in hate crime prosecution has contributed to his reputation as an effective and compassionate prosecutor.
Jay has been active in the legal and broader community. Jay worked with former State Senator Elaine Alquist to pass legislation that extended the statute of limitations for victims of child molestation.
Jay was a candidate for Superior Court in 2008 and was honored to have received the endorsement of every endorsing police officer association in Santa Clara County, community leaders, civil rights groups, and legal organizations.
WHY I'M RUNNING
The United States is going through many rapid societal changes that are impacting all our lives.
The judiciary is a critical institution that helps manage and direct societal change. I watched
with dismay as prominent people have worked
to undermine the legitimacy of many of our most cherished institutions, including the judiciary.
I wish to serve as a judge because it would allow me individually to uphold important values such as due process for all people and equal justice under
the law. I will further these values not by sweeping pronouncements from the bench, but in the daily work of judging: diligently preparing for every matter that comes before me, treating everyone who enters the courtroom with respect, compassion
and empathy, and being decisive and clear in the many decisions I will be tasked to make.
Judges are the embodiment of the rule of law.
But they must also be human and understand
that trust does not come with a black gown—
it must be earned!
I believe I have the calm and empathic temperament, the intellect and sufficient wisdom borne from life experiences to exercise the good judgment that being on the bench requires.