Back before the Thanksgiving holiday, the City of Santa Monica was hit with a tentative ruling from Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos, who found the citywide election system it uses to choose city council representatives violates the California Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution.

A team led by Kevin Shenkman of Malibu’s Shenkman & Hughes represented Pico Neighborhood Association and former city council candidate Maria Loya at trial, claiming that the system, instituted in 1946, was designed to prevent Latino voters from picking the candidates of their choice.