Veronica Henderson is running for Superior Court Judge of Imperial County

EL CENTRO, Calif.- Attorney Veronica Henderson has been practicing law for over two decades, and as handled every kind of case, from juvenile and probate to criminal and civil.

With accessibility as a major factor in the more rural areas of the Imperial Valley, Henderson suggests making use of existing facilities, especially in areas like Winterhaven and Salton City.

"I would love to see an expansion if possible of our court systems so that we have outlying courts, and one way you can do that is rather than having a dedicated court everyday, perhaps use existing facilities, conference rooms, what have you."

Henderson suggests using conference rooms and holding a "pop-up' court on alternating weeks or months in different areas.

She says the county needs to utilize its drug courts and look for treatment options for low-level offenders, as mass incarceration for drug offenses does not work.

According to Prison Policy Initiative, the incarceration of drug addicted individuals fails to address the root cause of addiction, and often leads to high recidivism rates, creating a revolving door in the prisons and jails.

"I'd like to see greater development of our mental health court. We already have one. Again, these are statutorily based and other counties have these courts and we need to filter more cases through those courts."

We asked Henderson about outside political influence on judges and their rulings. She said that although the positions of a judge is non-partisan, the laws they enforce are written and voted on by different political parties.
Henderson mentioned that during her campaign, she has spoken to many resident and what she has found is that people want to be heard. She said they want to know that a judge will give a fair ruling.

"A judge position in an election is non-partisan, and there's a reason for that. Because it's not about politics. Now we all know that our laws that are codified in our codes, come from the legislature. That is an inherently political entity with political influences on it."

Voters will make the decicision of who they want on the bench with California primary elections set for June 2.