Voters across Placer County will decide a contested race for a seat on the Placer County Superior Court in the June 2 primary. Sitting Judge Leon Dixson, who was appointed to the bench by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2024, faces a challenge from David Bass, a Sacramento County deputy district attorney and the mayor of Rocklin.
Disclosure: David Bass is part of the Sacramento County District Attorney's team prosecuting a criminal case against former CapRadio employee Jun Reina. Bass and CapRadio did not discuss that case during this interview.
Contested judicial races are uncommon in California. Most sitting Superior Court judges return to the bench without opposition. In recent election cycles, only about 4 to 10 percent of California's Superior Court seats have featured a contested race, according to Ballotpedia. In California, when a judge runs unopposed, their name doesn't even appear on the ballot; they are automatically re-elected.
When a challenger does step forward, it puts a job most voters never think about onto the ballot.
Superior Court judges in California preside over a wide range of cases, including criminal, civil, family, juvenile, probate and small claims. They handle sentencing, set bail, rule on motions, oversee trials and manage their courtrooms day to day. For anyone who comes into contact with the criminal justice system or the civil courts, the judge in the room shapes their experience and, often, their fate.
CapRadio interviewed both candidates about their legal backgrounds, judicial philosophies and views on the race itself.
Placer County Superior Court Judge Leon Dixson.Courtesy of Leon Dixson
Leon Dixson
Notable endorsements: Every sitting Placer County Superior Court judge; retired Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner
Dixson has lived in Placer County for about a decade with his wife and three children, who attend local public schools. He earned his law degree, a master's in dispute resolution and a certificate in criminal legal practice from Pepperdine University.
Before becoming a judge, he spent 14 years at Legal Services of Northern California, a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal help to low-income clients across 23 counties. While there he worked his way to regional counsel for civil rights, handling cases in housing, healthcare, education and government benefits.
In 2024, the Placer County judges unanimously selected him to serve as a court commissioner — a position that handles many of the same duties as a judge. Shortly after, Newsom appointed him to the Superior Court bench. He now handles civil and criminal cases and is preparing to switch to family law in July.
"Treat everyone fair and with respect, listen carefully,” Dixson said of his judicial philosophy. “Decide each case based on the law and the facts of that case, taking into consideration things like individual rights and public safety, and also modeling integrity."
Dixson said he keeps a personal note as a reminder. "It's always the right time to do what is right," it reads. He described it as a reminder to have courage in his decisions even when they aren't popular.
On sentencing, Dixson distinguished between cases where the prosecution and defense have already negotiated a plea agreement and cases where a judge sentences a defendant after a trial. He said state guidelines structure those decisions, with some room for judicial discretion.
"In all decisions that we make, particularly in criminal law, public safety is a very paramount consideration," Dixson said.
Dixson described the appointment process he went through as a thorough, nonpartisan vetting with an independent investigation by a state advisory committee, evaluation by a separate commission of attorneys, and bar association reviews before the governor's office considers a candidate. He contrasted that with the requirements to run for an open judicial seat, which require only that a candidate be an attorney in good standing for at least 10 years.
"There's a very thorough vetting process that's nonpartisan for people who become appointed," he said. "For people who are elected, that vetting process is not present."
Rocklin Mayor and Placer County Superior Court judge candidate David Bass.Courtesy of David Bass
David Bass
Notable endorsements: Placer County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association; Roseville Police Officers Association; Rocklin Police Officers’ Association; United Public Employees, the union representing Placer County's court clerks and reporters
Bass served in the U.S. Coast Guard before earning his law degree from McGeorge School of Law, where he graduated in 2014. He also earned a Masters of Law in litigation management from Baylor.
Bass began his prosecution career at the Placer County District Attorney's Office. He later moved to the California Department of Justice, where he served in the Financial Fraud and Special Prosecutions Unit. According to his campaign, he led prosecutions involving counterfeit goods trafficking, tax evasion and political corruption. He also worked in civil practice as a partner at a local law firm, handling constitutional and business matters.
He is currently a deputy district attorney in Sacramento County, where he said his assignment includes prosecuting law enforcement officers in special investigations.
Bass is the mayor of Rocklin and previously served on the Rocklin Planning Commission and City Council.
He described his judicial philosophy this way:
"We have to apply the law as written, and as interpreted by the higher courts," Bass said. "Not to reach a result that I think would be best as a matter of policy. It requires a very careful reading of the text. Statutory interpretation is really important, and honest engagement with precedent."
Bass also addressed judicial temperament, a term used to describe how a judge conducts themselves on the bench and treats the people who appear in their courtroom.
"Your temperament is going to be focused on process," he said. "Making sure that people are heard, making sure that the litigants are heard, as opposed to just placating lawyers or predetermining an outcome because of how you feel about something."
Asked how he would reassure a defendant that a former prosecutor on the bench would treat them fairly, Bass pointed to the breadth of his career. He said his current Sacramento DA assignment includes prosecuting law enforcement officers in special investigations, and that earlier in his career he represented clients suing the government over law enforcement actions.
"I did spend half of my career as a civil litigator, and then the other half as a prosecutor, and it's been sometimes in an adversarial position to law enforcement," he said.
On contested judicial elections, Bass said the choice between appointment and election is "kind of a false dichotomy" and that there's nothing wrong with either process.
"The community actually gets to decide," he said. "They deserve a judge whose qualifications are evaluated by the voters. In the appointment process, they make a decision based on a minimum floor of qualification. And the voters get to decide whether that is good enough for them."
Placer County voters will decide for themselves in the June 2 primary.
