Superior Court Judge candidate Trena Burger, told audiences she would support the death penalty when she spoke with Sacramento State students Monday, Oct. 23 in the University Union.

“I support three strikes with a judge’s discretion,” said Burger.

Judges can’t have a platform. Judges are voted in based on their qualifications, education and temperament, Burger also said.

Burger has ten years experience as a Judge Pro-Tem for the Sacramento County Superior Court. She has been an attorney for 22 years, working on both civil and criminal cases. Currently, she is on the Women Escaping a Violent Environment advisory committee for Sacramentans Against A Violent Environment.

“A judge has an absolute obligation to be impartial, to be objective,” Burger said.

Burger is a guest lecturer at McGeorge School of Law and on the Dean’s Advisory Council at UC Davis.

“I will not be insulated in the court room, but a part of the community,” Burger said. According to Burger, she wants to see the symptoms with the problem. As a judge she said she will ask herself questions like: How did he/she get there? And how can we help keep others from getting there?

Burger has spent much of her campaign time working with community leaders around Sacramento County.

She said she would like courts to be friendlier. She is for fair opportunity and will not go into a case with a hidden agenda.

Burger graduated from UC Davis, King Hall School of Law. “My experience at Davis was very diverse and open minded,” Burger said. “Teachers cared, they wanted you to pass. We were encouraged to think beyond the dots, know how to apply the law and anticipate where the law was going,” said Burger.

“Life is built on challenges,” she said. “I have lived my dream.”