BAR SAYS MCKAY 'NOT QUALIFIED'.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley Superior Court Judge Chesley McKay has been rated ``not qualified'' by the Los Angeles County Bar Association while his state attorney challenger got a ``qualified'' rating.

McKay, who has been out sick since September because of a long-term illness, is facing state Department of Industrial Relations attorney Stella Owens-Murrell in the March 2 election.

Officials from the bar association's judicial elections evaluation committee, which issued the ratings, said they could not disclose the reasons for McKay's rating.

``The committee does an extensive review and arrives at what they believe is an appropriate decision,'' said Gerald Chaleff, committee chairman.

McKay, 53, could not be reached for comment. He was one of eight Los Angeles County judicial candidates - and the only judge - given a ``not qualified'' rating.

``That evaluation reflects the committee's opinion that these candidates do not adequately possess one or more of the following attributes necessary to perform the judicial function satisfactorily ...,'' the committee's report said.

The attributes include integrity and character; judgment and intellectual capacity; fairness; experience; industry and diligence; judicial temperament, including whether the candidate would be courteous and considerate of counsel, parties, witnesses and jurors, and whether the candidate is even-tempered; professional ability and knowledge of the law; absence of health problems that affect the ability to serve as a judge; and positive professional reputation in the community, the report said.

A former Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, McKay was appointed Municipal Court judge in 1994 and then elected in March 1996. In that election, McKay received the top rating of ``well qualified.''

In June 1996, he was promoted to the Superior Court, and in 1988, he ran unopposed. Judges' terms are for six years, and the annual salary is $139,784.

McKay originally was scheduled to return to work at the beginning of the year, and then on Feb. 2. Court officials said the date has been pushed back again.

``Now he's out until he contacts us to let us know when he can come back,'' said Kyle Christopherson, a court spokesman. McKay continues to receive his pay.

In 2001, McKay had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.

McKay had been assigned to the Palmdale court in July as part of a midyear reshuffling of judges in the Antelope Valley. He previously worked in the Superior Court and Juvenile Court in Lancaster and then at Burbank Superior Court.

McKay is a 1982 graduate of the San Fernando College of Law.

Before joining the District Attorney's Office in 1984, he was an associate attorney in the law offices of Elizabeth Kaufman in Northridge, served as corporate counsel for WHB Chan and Co. from 1983 to 1984, and worked as an associate in the Encino law offices of Edwin S. Saul from 1982 to 1983.

Owens-Murrell, 55, has worked for the Department of Industrial Relations since 1995 as defense counsel for the director. From 1986 to 1995, she had a law office in Palmdale, specializing in labor and employment litigation.

From 1984 to 1986, Owens-Murrell was an associate with Parker, Milliken, Clark, O'Hara & Samuelian, a mid-size management labor law firm in Los Angeles.

Owens-Murrell graduated in 1970 from City University of New York's Hunter College, with a major in political science and a minor in history. She earned a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com