Vacaville attorney John Coffer is running for a judgeship on the Solano County Superior Court. (Courtesy photo)
With the retirement of Judge Harry S. Kinnicutt in March, two candidates are vying to fill his seat on the Solano County Superior Court. The first is Steve Gizzi, a practicing attorney from Benicia and a former councilmember and vice mayor. The other is John Coffer, a longtime prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Solano County.
Coffer has spent much of his life in Vacaville, where he attended Vacaville High School and has lived ever since. He studied law at the University of California, Berkeley and the Cal Western School of Law. Given that his grandfather and uncle were lawyers, Coffer said legal practices run in the family.
“There was a good deal of talk about the law as a child,” he said. “It seemed like it would be an interesting way to spend a life, and it has been an extraordinarily interesting way to do so.”
Coffer began practicing law in Solano County in 1980 where he worked as a trial attorney in the District Attorney’s Office. Throughout the ‘80s, he prosecuted several cases, including the shooting death of Heather Dunn in 1986. Dunn was a sophomore at Benicia High School who was shot and killed on campus by ex-boyfriend Leonard Rubio.
“There aren’t a lot of murders in Benicia, so this one had a significant impact on the community,” Coffer said.
Rubio was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison in 1988. He was granted parole to Contra Costa County in 2010.
Coffer also prosecuted the case of Jeremy Stoner, a 6-year-old boy from Vallejo who was kidnapped and murdered.
In 1989, Coffer left the DA’s office to start his own practice as a defense attorney, which he has been doing ever since. During his time, he has tried more than 180 jury trials and 50 court trials, including two dozen murder cases in Solano, Sacramento and Alameda counties. Now Coffer is setting his sights on a top judicial position.
“This is the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “I’ve committed myself to trial work, I’ve done it for almost 38 years now. I believe in the legal process, and I think that’s substantiated by the fact that I’ve stayed at it for this long a period. I don’t think any person would continue to try cases unless they believed in the fairness of the system. Having the right people in the right jobs is critical to the process of continuing to be fair.”
One priority for Coffer is to handle the transition of Department 3 of the Solano County Superior Court from handling family cases to a variety of suits including criminal cases.
“Ultimately, that courtroom will have a criminal calendar,” he said. “The best thing I can do for the community is to see that the criminal law is administered appropriately, fairly with every litigant (and) every party having a fair opportunity to present their case.”
Coffer said this might sound like a small issue to some, but he believes it is actually the biggest challenge for a legal system.
“A judge doesn’t just sit there and listen,” he said. “He ultimately has to make decisions about how the case is going to end. If there’s a conviction, a judge has to make a decision about the proper punishment that takes into account the defendant and his background, the nature of the crime that he committed and the protection of the public.”
“The wrong decision can have an enormous impact, not only on an individual but on a community as well if someone not in that community is released back into it,” he added.
Coffer said he would use integrity and legal experience on the job. He has been endorsed by 20 current and retired county judges, and scores of attorneys and elected officials throughout the county, including five mayors.
“I take that as a great compliment to me, both to my ethics, my integrity and my ability as a lawyer,” he said.
The election is June 5. For more information on Coffer’s campaign, go to johncofferforjudge.com.
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First I would like to comment that this position is for a family law court, so Coffer’s specialty, criminal lawsuits, are not of utmost significance. Since that was brought up, however, I would like to bring attention to one of his most recent cases in which he is defending a man who was found guilty of 12 felonies, including rape.
https://www.dailyrepublic.com/solano-news/fairfield/solano-jury-in-3rd-trial-finds-fairfield-man-guilty-of-12-felonies/
Coffer’s opponent, Steve Gizzi, already sits as a judge pro temp and has heard over 4000 cases in this position. Additionally, Steve exhibits a track record of community service for the last 30 years, of which John Coffer has none.
Erica, two points. First, please read below. The position is transitioning.
One priority for Coffer is to handle the transition of Department 3 of the Solano County Superior Court from handling family cases to a variety of suits including criminal cases.
The second point is that everyone is entitled to a lawyer. Defending someone with a felony conviction is his job and we should all be thankful that there are lawyers who prosecute and defend. It’s the basis of our legal system.
I don’t know enough about the individuals referenced here, but in a general sense, it’s very alarming to see people criticizing a lawyer for defending their client. It doesn’t matter how many charges someone has, as an American they reserve the right to legal representation. If anything, Coffer representing this person, who had already had their court appointed attorney quit, proves his willingness to adhere to constitutional standards. I would never want to elect a judge who would not be willing to do their job as a lawyer.
He lost my vote when he says that he believes in the fairness of the system. Tell me, how many convicted people have now been released because of new DNA evidence? Hmm? How many rape kits have yet to be processed? It may be the only game in town, but the game is rigged.
So I guess you aren’t voting for anyone in this election?
I’ll probably vote for Gizzi, but you won’t find any outsider becoming judge…by the time they can get elected, they are part of the problem.
The election for Solano County Superior Court Judge is for department three which is a family court. There is a rumor that department three is transitioning from family court to criminal court, which is simply not true. Perhaps criminal defense lawyer John Coffer thinks that by repeating this rumor to everyone it will be so. It will not.
There is a shortage of judges in the family court, so much so, that Judge Dora Rios just went from being a criminal judge to a family judge because there is such a crisis in that area right now. The need is for a judge like Steve Gizzi who is more qualified, more experienced and the right choice.