Judge
Ellen C. DeShazer was born in
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
. In July of 1973, she moved to
Los Angeles
and entered
West
Los Angeles
Community College
in January of 1974. After
receiving her AA degree from
West
Los Angeles
Community College
, she entered
California
State
University
at Dominguez Hills. In February
of 1978, she was admitted to Glendale University College of Law where she
completed her Bachelor of Science Degree and earned her Juris Doctorate
Degree in 1981. This was all
accomplished while working full time at Pacific Bell and attending school in
the evenings as a full time student.
From
January 1983 to July of 1988, she was employed as a Deputy District Attorney
for
Los Angeles
County
. In July of 1988, she was
appointed Municipal Court Commissioner by the judges of the Compton
Municipal Court. On
April 27, 1995
, she was appointed Judge of the Compton Municipal Court by Governor Pete
Wilson. On
January 21, 2000
, she became a Superior Court Judge as a result of Court Unification.
In
July 1998, under the leadership of Judge DeShazer, the
Compton Drug Court
was opened. In July 2001, with
the passage of Proposition 36, Judge DeShazer added to her responsibilities
the implementation of treatment under Proposition 36.
To date, 160 participants have successfully completed the Drug Court
Program and 15 have successfully completed Proposition 36 treatment.
Judge
DeShazer is currently the Chair of the Judges Round Table Committee which is
made up of judges who sit as drug court judges and Proposition 36 treatment
judges. They meet on a
bi-monthly basis to discuss issues and problems relevant to treatment.
Judge
DeShazer is a faculty member of the National Drug Court Institute, the
teaching arm of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals,
responsible for development of the curriculum and instruction on the
establishment and development and training for Drug Courts in other
jurisdictions around the country.
Judge
DeShazer is a member of the National Association of Drug Court
Professionals, the California Association of Drug Court Professionals, Black
Women Lawyers, California Association of Black Lawyers, California Judges
Association, the National Bar Association and the Los Angeles NAACP.
She is also a member of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., Inglewood
Chapter, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Gamma Omega Chapter.
She has been honored by the American Cancer Society, South Central
Unit as Judge of the Year, the City of
Compton
, and the City of
Lynwood
for her outstanding community service by establishing the
Compton Drug Court
.