Sherri "Onica" Valle Cole, was a career criminal prosecutor with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. Onica now works in private practice as a Civil Litigator. Onica graduated from Yale University with a degree in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry. She was a Loyola Scholar at Loyola Law School. Onica supported herself by teaching for Los Angeles Unified School District.

ONICA IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT HAS SERVED AS A JUDGE PRO TEM:

Onica volunteered as a Temporary Judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court and was regularly called upon to fulfill the duties of a judge. She is the only candidate with experience serving as a Temporary Judge and is certified to sit the areas of Small Claims, Traffic, Unlawful Detainers, Family Law and Restraining Orders. Onica has served as a Judge Pro Tem more than fifty times across Los Angeles County, from the Antelope Valley to Compton.

ONICA IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WITH CIVIL AND CRIMINAL TRIAL EXPERIENCE

Criminal Experience:

As a criminal prosecutor she walked the halls of the county courthouses on a regular basis and has negotiated hundreds of cases with bench officers and defense counsel. Onica’s trial experience as a criminal prosecutor included cases that involved domestic violence, animal cruelty, assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, possession of a concealed weapon, brandishing a deadly weapon, prostitution, narcotic offenses, hit and run offenses and other serious criminal offenses.

From February 2009 through June of 2017, Onica was assigned to a vertical prosecution unit which focuses on Consumer Fraud crimes. As a consumer fraud prosecutor, she protected the public by prosecuting dangerous medical doctors, sale of untested and unapproved food and drugs, auto repair theft, marijuana clinics, incompetent and/or unlicensed immigrant consultants, would-be real estate brokers, loan modification and real estate fraud and grand theft.

Onica has vigorously prosecuted a number of immigrant consultants including Gloria Saucedo, Eblin Balver and Jesus Lozano and was invited to lecture on the topic of Immigration Fraud for the California Association of District Attorneys.

Civil Experience:

Onica currently practices civil litigation across multiple counties including Los Angeles County. She is tasked with defending civil litigants who are unfamiliar with the civil litigation process. She has completed three civil trials in 2019, including one jury trial. Onica draws upon her many years in civil practice prior to joining the prosecutor's office and has years of experience in all facts of the civil litigation process, including written discovery, expert discovery, law and motion practice.