Elect Jed Beebe Judge

A Brief Biography

    Jed attended USC with scholarship help and by working as a summer meter reader for the Department of Water & Power.  Graduating with honors in political science, he received a  scholarship to USC's Gould School of Law.  While there he was a Moot Court Finalist and Chief Justice of the University's Judicial Council and  clerked for the Environmental Unit of the State Attorney General's office.  He passed the bar the first try in 1974 and began work at the insurance defense firm of Murchison & Cumming, conducting civil discovery and filing and arguing law and motion matters. 

      After working as an associate attorney for some eighteen months, Jed opened his own law office engaging in a general practice of civil litigation, family law and probate matters.  He was hired as well as a part-time prosecutor for the City of Hawthorne, gaining valuable trial experience prosecuting misdemeanors.  While working on his own, he met and married his wife, Diane, who had initially been visiting California from Illinois.  By 1982, having successfully settled  two large civil accounting fraud cases, Jed left private practice to join the County Counsel's office in Santa Barbara. 

      For four years in Santa Barbara, Jed worked on a wide variety of cases, specializing for a time in land use and CEQA matters.  He was assigned the lead responsiblity for legal issues involving the Casmalia Class I hazardous waste facility.  In addition to negotiating an agreement to reduce truck traffic, filing a nuisance action concerning odors from the site, and advocating before various  state agencies, Jed drafted an ordinance adopted by the Board of Superivisors that attempted some direct regulation of the site.  The ordinance was challened on grounds it was pre-empted by state statute.  Jed defended the ordinance successfully in both the trial court and the Court of Appeal, establishing the legitimacy of reasonable local regulation.  The State Supreme Court denied review of the published opinion:  Casmalia Resources, Ltd. v. County of Santa Barbara (1987) 195 CA3d 827. 

    In 1986, Jed and Diane, with two young sons, moved to Santa Maria to open the first branch of the County Counsel's office outside Santa Barbara.  In addition to the ongoing Casmalia litigation, Jed represented North County school districts and the County Department of Social Services.  He had particular responsbility for dependency cases heard in Juvenile Court, and facilitated placement and sometimes adoption of abused and neglected children.  He defended the County as well in several federal and state actions.

     In 1990, Jed was hired by the Judges of the Superior Court as the first full time Research Attorney in the North County.  He has held that position since then.  In addition to preparing research memos for the civil law and motion calendars, Jed was often asked to serve as Judge Pro tem in the Juvenile Court, in traffic and small claims cases, and in both criminal and civil trials.  He served as special master in the first Michael Jackson civil suit and in the litigation involving the Santa Ynez River known as the War of the Willows.  He is regularly consulted by the Judges on evidentiary questions, motions in limine and jury trial instructions. 

     In 1997, Jed was named Court Employee of the Year and in 2005 received a Presiding Judge's award from Judge Rodney Melville.  He currently supervises a staff of two other research attorneys in Santa Maria.  The office is responsible for reviewing civil calendar matters, answering questions posed by judges on any issue before them, advising the clerk's office, reviewing habeas corpus petitions in criminal cases, and serving as legal staff for the Appeallate Division, reviewing appeals in misdemeanor and limited civil cases. 

    Jed and Diane have three children and three grandchildren.  Their youngest daughter, Jerusha, lives at home and is a sophomore at Pioneer Valley High School.  Middle son Nathan is married to Tricia, lives in Santa Maria, and is working at a local car dealership.  Eldest son Byron, married to Tabitha,  has graduated from law school with honors and is currently clerking with a Ninth Circuit Judge in Las Vegas.   Diane works as a CARE Assistant at Allan Hancock College helping provide child care benefits and other services to single parents looking to earn a college degree. 

   Jed is a violinist with the Lompoc Pops and the Santa Maria Philharmonic, which he also serves as President of the Board of Directors.  He is active as well in his local church, where he directs a choir and has taught Sunday School. 

    Jed’s legal skills and court experience have been recognized by the judges he has worked for.  They have endorsed his candidacy and readiness to assume the responsibilities they themselves have carried.  A long period of training and service has made him a worthy candidate to carry forward the tradition of excellence in the local court system.