Judge Katherine Mader (Ret.)

Katherine Mader spent two decades as a judge in Los Angeles Criminal Court, before retiring early in 2020. Before that she was the LAPD's first Inspector General, prosecuted two murder-for-hire trials and served as a defense attorney who convinced a jury to spare the life of the Hillside Strangler. In August of this year, Judge Mader published Inside the Robe: A Judge's Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America, which best selling author Michael Connelly called: "a perfect book: engrossing and telling at the same time." The Judge has granted Crime Story permission to excerpt the entirety of her...

Katherine Mader spent two decades as a judge in Los Angeles Criminal Court, before retiring early in 2020. Before that she was the LAPD's first Inspector General, prosecuted two murder-for-hire trials and served as a defense attorney who convinced a jury to spare the life of the Hillside Strangler. In August of this year, Judge Mader published Inside the Robe: A Judge's Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America, which best selling author Michael Connelly called: "a perfect book: engrossing and telling at the same time." The Judge has granted Crime Story permission to excerpt the entirety of her...

Katherine Mader spent two decades as a judge in Los Angeles Criminal Court, before retiring early in 2020. Before that she was the LAPD's first Inspector General, prosecuted two murder-for-hire trials and served as a defense attorney who convinced a jury to spare the life of the Hillside Strangler. In August of this year, Judge Mader published Inside the Robe: A Judge's Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America, which best selling author Michael Connelly called: "a perfect book: engrossing and telling at the same time." The Judge has granted Crime Story permission to excerpt the entirety of her...

Katherine Mader spent two decades as a judge in Los Angeles Criminal Court, before retiring early in 2020. Before that she was the LAPD's first Inspector General, prosecuted two murder-for-hire trials and served as a defense attorney who convinced a jury to spare the life of the Hillside Strangler. In August of this year, Judge Mader published Inside the Robe: A Judge's Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America, which best selling author Michael Connelly called: "a perfect book: engrossing and telling at the same time." The Judge has granted Crime Story permission to excerpt the entirety of her...

On February 19, 2020, Katherine Mader retired after serving for nearly two decades as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Before she joined the bench in 2001, she also practiced criminal defense from 1973-1985, was a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney from 1985-1996 and 1999-2001, and was the first LAPD inspector general from 1996-1999. Why I Support George Gascón for District Attorney By Katherine Mader, Los Angeles Criminal Court judge, retired February, 2020 Having spent the last forty-five years participating in the Los Angeles criminal justice system from all angles (prosecutor, defense attorney, LAPD inspector general, and Superior Court judge), I...

Episode 246: Inside the Robe: A Judge’s Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America – Part 1 In Part 1 of Inside the Robe, Judge Mader explains her intentions in writing the book and presents an illuminative anecdote about one of her first experiences as a criminal trial attorney. Episode 247: Inside the Robe: A Judge’s Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America – Part 2 In Part 2 of Inside the Robe, Judge Mader offers some of the context of her personal family history that informs her sense of justice, and then takes us inside the building where she presided as...