Featured in the Antelope Valley Press – 2-21-1999
This annual special section of the Valley Press illustrates anyone can make a positive difference in the Antelope Valley. The people you see featured between the covers of this edition come from every imaginable background and calling, and yet they share a common trait of going out of their way to help others and to build, not tear down, their communities.
Public defender champions for Latino justice and causes
By: Michael Bitton – Valley Press Staff Writer
A fierce belief in truth, justice and the American way is what characterizes Richard Loa, an alternate public defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
As a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Loa is often in the limelight. “That’s where he shines most,” said Isaac Barcelona, also a member of the Hispanic Chamber.
“Richard is a very passionate person,” Barcelona said. “Every time I hear him speak I am reminded why I like to be around him. He’s got a passion for issues that shakes you up.”
One of the first issues that put Loa’s name in the headlines was illegal immigration.
Politics
Loa, a registered Republican since the late 1980s, said the Hispanic community needs to be active in both the Democratic and the Republican parties.
“To fully participate in American society, we have to be active politically,” he said. “We can’t do that if we only participate in the Democratic Party.”
Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, has put Loa’s leadership to work as an alternate to the Los Angeles County Republican Central Committee.
Loa grew up in Victoria, Texas and attended law school at UCLA. He became an attorney in 1977, and immediately went to work for the indigent in Corpus Christie, Texas. He also practiced law for a time in his hometown of Victoria.
By late 1977 he was back in California, in private practice in the San Fernando Valley. His office moved to South Gate for a time.
In 1989, he took a job with the Alternate Defense Counsel, which later became the Alternate Public Defender’s Office.
Loa loves his work, even though some of his clients aren’t society’s finest specimens.
“The U.S. Constitution requires anyone at risk of incarceration be provided a lawyer, whether they can afford it or not,” Loa said.
“I do my best to make sure my clients get a fair trial.”
As a public defender, he’s handled everything from driving under the influence cases to murders with special circumstances.
One recent day in court, Loa defended a gang member accused of attempted murder, a man suspected of burglarizing a store, a suspected burglary accomplice in a separate case, and a man accused of assault.
“This is pretty typical,” he said of his schedule. “We don’t have an attempted murder every day, but the rest of it is standard fare.”
Loa also sits on the board of directors for Madigan Realty Corporation and is the company’s broker in real estate dealings.
He said he will continue to speak out on community issues through his membership in various organizations of Palmdale and Lancaster.“We have to stay active if we’re ever going to have a voice,” he said.
Contact Richard Loa’s Office
A fierce belief in truth, justice and the American way is what characterizes Richard Loa, an alternate public defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.