![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GVWire-Ad-Get-our-mobile-app-1280x90-1-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nUeltzen is running for an open spot on the bench against public defender Deidre Adams and Ashley Paulson, a former DA\u2019s prosecutor who is the city of Fresno\u2019s chief assistant attorney and chief prosecutor.<\/p>\n
![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ashley-Paulson-Headshot-300X300-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cSuffice to say, this position is too important to leave to candidates who fail to live up to the standards and exercise the good judgment we expect from judges on the bench.\u201d \u2014 Judicial candidate Ashley Paulson<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let the picture do the talking,\u201d Paulson said in a statement. \u201cI am proud of the record I built at the District Attorney\u2019s Office, the temperament I bring to my job, and my ability to work with my colleagues and opposing counsel.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuffice to say, this position is too important to leave to candidates who fail to live up to the standards and exercise the good judgment we expect from judges on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams weighed in a the card, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of a judge requires professionalism, restraint, and respect for the public we serve,\u201d Adams said in a statement. \u201cCampaigns come and go, but character, temperament, and judgment matter long after Election Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remain focused on what truly matters to Fresno County voters: experience, fairness, integrity, and equal application of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Deidre-Adams-Headshot-300X300-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of a judge requires professionalism, restraint, and respect for the public we serve. Campaigns come and go, but character, temperament, and judgment matter long after Election Day.\u201d \u2014 Judicial candidate Deidre Adams<\/p>\n
Ueltzen\u2019s Response<\/p>\n
Ueltzen told GV Wire that the card is real and one of the versions of the holiday card he gives out every year.<\/p>\n
\u201cFriends get that version, other people get a card without that picture,\u201d Ueltzen explained. \u201cAt the DA\u2019s Office, we deal with very serious issues and that picture is meant to be a moment of levity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why somebody could see it as being out of step. But, candidly, it\u2019s not lost on me that it\u2019s coming out at the 11th hour before the election on Tuesday. This is an attempt to distract from the fact that I\u2019ve spent my career working hard to prosecute serious cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Portait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Steven-Ueltzen-Headshot-300X300-150x150.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why somebody could see it as being out of step. But, candidly, it\u2019s not lost on me that it\u2019s coming out at the 11th hour before the election on Tuesday. This is an attempt to distract from the fact that I\u2019ve spent my career working hard to prosecute serious cases.\u201d \u2014 Judicial candidate Steven Ueltzen <\/p>\n
The card became the talk of the legal community, multiple sources told GV Wire, as it was sent to DA\u2019s Office attorneys as well as defense attorneys in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time I became aware of it was seeing it in a judge\u2019s chambers,\u201d said an attorney who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the subject.<\/p>\n
A prosecutor who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation said that the card was posted on cubicles in the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe photo (showing family members giving the middle finger) was on the back of the card,\u201d the prosecutor said. \u201cThat\u2019s the side people posted on their cubicles. Some were OK with it. Others thought it was totally inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
DA Smittcamp Heard About the Card<\/p>\n
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp told GV Wire that she was aware of the card.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see the card, but I heard about it,\u201d Smittcamp said. \u201cThere were no complaints made, so no investigative action was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smittcamp hasn\u2019t endorsed in the race, but a sign backing Paulson for judge is visible in the yard at the DA\u2019s home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harmless fun or judgment unbecoming a potential judge? That\u2019s a question voters may ponder when voting in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-336765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}