Kevin A. Ross
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Kevin A. Ross | |
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Judge on theLos Angeles County Superior Court | |
In office 1999–2005 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kevin Andrew Ross June 1, 1963 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | Morehouse College Southwestern Law School |
Kevin Andrew Ross(born June 1, 1963)[1]is an American television personality, podcaster, producer, writer, and former judge on theLos Angeles County Superior Courtin California. Since 2010, he has presided over the syndicated reality courtroom show,America's Court with Judge Ross.
Biography
[edit]Early years
[edit]A Los Angeles native, Ross attendedGardena High School,where he was student body president and president of the District-Wide Association of Student Councils for theLos Angeles Unified School District.He went on to become student body vice president and later president ofMorehouse College,graduating from the AtlantaHBCUwith a degree in Political Science. Ross received his Juris Doctor fromSouthwestern Law School.There, he continued in various leadership roles, including class president and chapter president of theNational Black Law Students Association.Ross also became a member of the African-AmericanGreek-letteredfraternityKappa Alpha Psi.[citation needed]
Law and Politics
[edit]An internship working for theLos Angeles County District Attorney's Officeat the height of thecrack cocaine epidemicconvinced Ross that victims and those living in underserved communities needed advocates to represent their interests. He decided to become a deputy district attorney, and later worked as a hardcore gang prosecutor responsible for implementing controversial civil gang nuisance injunctions.[2]
Ross entered politics in 1995 by running unsuccessfully for theLos Angeles City Council.[3]That year he also co-founded The New Leaders, an organization seeking to train the next generation of African-American leaders.[4]
Initial Media Employment
[edit]Ross began contributing op-ed pieces for newspapers including theNew York Times.[5]He was named co-host of"The People's Connection"on 103.9 KACE, before being given his own show on Disney's KTZN 710The Zone.Ross later hosted and produced a weekend program on Talkradio 790KABCuntil he retired to begin his judicial career.[citation needed]
Election to the California Bench and Subsequent Removal
[edit]While attending law school, Ross interned forDavid W. Williams.A fellow blackRepublican,Judge Williams would administer the oath of office to Ross after he became a judge on the then Inglewood Municipal Court.[6]
Ross was elevated the following year to the Superior Court after a ballot measure approved by California voters allowed for "unification" of municipal and superior court judicial roles.[7]During his seven years on the bench, Ross handled over 60,000 matters, ranging from traffic and small claims cases, to criminal matters involving juvenile delinquents, sexually violent predators, and murderers.[citation needed]After being profiled on KCET'sLife & Times Tonight,Ross began appearing on the localPBSprogram to discuss legal issues from a judge's perspective.[8]He also frequently spoke about the importance of Blacks becoming police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges to ensure the judicial system treated minorities fairly.
In 2005 the Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) removed Judge Ross from office, stating he violated judicial canons pertaining to defendants' constitutional rights, became embroiled in cases he was supposed to be adjudicating impartially, publicly commented on several matters pending before him during appearances onKCET,and improperly held himself out as a judge while actually acting as a private mediator in a television court show pilot.[9][10]Ross unsuccessfully appealed the CJP's decision to the California Supreme Court. The ruling also made him ineligible to practice law in the state.[11][12]Neither the initialEndemolandTribune Entertainment-produced"Mobile Court",nor the follow-upTwentieth Televisionprogram"Ross is Boss",was picked up by television stations for syndication.[13]
Return to Media
[edit]Ross decided to start a communications company, become a blogger, and launch an eponymous Internet show onBlogtalkradio,a large citizen broadcasting network."The Kevin Ross Show"became a leading current events and conservative political show on Blogtalkradio. It also ranked among the top five most popular shows on the social networking radio site.[14]
In 2008,Fox News Radioand BlogTalkRadio partnered to bring listeners"Election 2008: Battle of the Blog Talkers."Fans of FOX News Radio's"FOX Across America"selected their favorite BlogTalkRadio hosts from each side of the political spectrum during a weeklong, one-on-one tournament. Ross was chosen as one of the eight hosts, and ultimately won the contest representing the political right.[15]
At a 2009 business meeting with comedianByron Allento discuss an online media venture, Allen was so impressed with Ross that he made a deal on the spot, allowing Ross to host what would be the first of six court shows forEntertainment Studios(ES). The following year,"America's Court with Judge Ross"launched as a daytime program.[16]Entering its fourteenth season in September 2023,America's Courtcan also be seen onJustice Central,ES’ legal cable network.[17]
Ross’ acting credits include appearing as the judge inindependent films”Blindfire”and”Broken Star””,and an episode ofBounce TV’s comedy series”In The Cut”.Additionally, theNetflixrelease”Ava (2020 film)”features Ross presiding over anAmerica's Courtcase.
Entrepreneurship
[edit]Along with serving as one of the executive producers on theEmmy-nominatedAmerica's Court,Ross hostsKevin Ross The PodcastonTheGrio's Black Podcast Network.[18]He appears on various cable and radio outlets such asFox News,MSNBC,CNN,Black Entertainment Television(BET),NPR,[19][20]andKJLH102.3 FM as a legal, political and social commentator.[citation needed]
Personal
[edit]Ross is married with two sons and resides in the Los Angeles area.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^CA Birth Index
- ^"Litter laws sweep LA drug dealers off the streets".The Independent.The Independent.April 29, 1999.RetrievedJune 9,2010.
- ^Albiniak, Paige (14 October 2009)."Entertainment Studios Offers 'America's Court'".Broadcasting + Cable.NextTV.Retrieved24 December2023.
- ^Bryant, John Hope (12 November 2005)."The New Leaders Organization at 10".Retrieved24 December2023.
- ^"Drowning Case Embitters US Race Relations".New York Times.November 11, 1994.Retrieved2009-01-10.
- ^"Campaign Carries Religious Overtones".Metropolitan News-Enterprise.Metropolitan News-Enterprise. March 2, 2000.Retrieved2010-06-09.
- ^Charles Lindner (May 23, 1999)."In Los Angeles County, Two Courts Are Better Than One".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2010-06-09.
- ^KCET Life & Times Tonight (November 12, 2001)."Life & Times Transcripts".Life & Times Tonight.p. 1. Archived fromthe originalon August 15, 2008.Retrieved2008-08-13.
- ^Inquiry concerning Kevin A. RossArchived2011-12-19 at theWayback Machine.California Commission on Judicial Performance. November 16, 2005.
- ^"L.A. County judge faces disciplinary action over TV appearances".The San Diego Union-Tribune.Associated Press.April 20, 2005.Retrieved2008-06-07.
- ^Kenneth Ofgang (April 20, 2006)."Removal of Judge Kevin Ross From Bench Left Standing by S.C."Metropolitan News-Enterprise.p. 1.Retrieved2008-06-11.
- ^State Bar Membership Records
- ^Jim Benson (May 1, 2007)."Twentieth Renews Court Blocks".Broadcasting & Cable.Broadcasting & Cable.Retrieved2009-01-08.
- ^Sherri M. Okamoto (May 12, 2008)."Defrocked Judge Turns Internet Radio Personality, Entrepreneur".Metropolitan News-Enterprise.p. 3.Retrieved2008-06-11.
- ^Fox News Radio (October 2, 2008)."Battle of The Blog Talkers: Left vs. Right".Fox News Radio.p. 1.Retrieved2008-10-03.
- ^"Kevin Ross to Preside Over Byron Allen's New Daytime Court Show".EUR Web.March 29, 2010. p. 1.Retrieved2010-06-07.
- ^"Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios Launches Legal Digital Network - December 10, 2012; Hollywood Reporter".The Hollywood Reporter.10 December 2012.RetrievedMay 27,2013.
- ^"Kevin Ross The Podcast".TheGrio.
- ^"Two Black Republicans, Divided On Obama".NPR.Retrieved16 September2019.
- ^"How to Address Each Other... And Our President".NPR.Retrieved16 September2019.
External links
[edit]- 1963 births
- Living people
- African-American judges
- African-American television personalities
- American bloggers
- American prosecutors
- American radio personalities
- Businesspeople from California
- Morehouse College alumni
- Lawyers from Los Angeles
- Southwestern Law School alumni
- Television judges
- California state court judges
- Municipal judges in the United States
- Gardena High School alumni
- Disbarred American lawyers
- Disbarred California lawyers
- 21st-century African-American writers
- 20th-century African-American lawyers