David Slayton

David Slayton currently serves as the Court Executive Officer/Clerk of Court for the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, a position he has held since December 31, 2022. In this role, Mr. Slayton oversees operational and administrative functions for the largest court in the nation with 582 judicial officers, managing the operations of 36 courthouses, a $1.1 billion budget, and workforce of over 4,700 full-time employees. Since arriving at the Los Angeles court, Mr. Slayton has overseen tremendous technological advances, including the implementation of AI tools, guided the court through a ransomware attack in the summer of 2024 (his second journey down this path), and developed strong partnerships with research institutions to evaluate and improve the court user experience.

He previously served as the Vice President of Court Consulting Services for the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), where he led the organization’s consulting work for the nation’s state courts. He also previously served as the Administrative Director of the Office of Court Administration (State Court Administrator) and Executive Director of the Texas Judicial Council from 2012 to 2021. During his tenure, he led the judiciary’s response to a cyberattack, was responsible for implementing mandatory statewide electronic filing, and oversaw the procurement of a uniform case management system, as well as many other court technology innovations. He led the judiciary’s reform efforts of the juvenile justice system, guardianship/conservatorship system, criminal and civil fines and fees, bail practices, and the intersection of the justice and mental health systems. Mr. Slayton led the Texas Judiciary’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was one of the six members of the national pandemic Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), and served as co-chair of the RRT Technology Post-Pandemic Planning Workgroup.

He has been employed by the judicial branch in various roles since 1998, including as the Director of Court Administration for Lubbock County, Texas; as Court Services Supervisor for the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, in Dallas; and as a trial court coordinator and deputy district clerk in Lubbock County.

Mr. Slayton earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Texas Tech University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Troy University. He is a 2007 Graduate Fellow of the Institute for Court Management. Mr. Slayton was awarded the 2024 Warren E. Burger Award for Excellence in Court Administration and received the 2020 Mary McQueen Leadership Award, the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the NCSC, the 2010 Robert O. Dawson Indigent Defense Distinguished Service Award, and the 2021 American Legal Technology Court Honorable Mention Award. He has served on the board of directors of COSCA, is a past president of the National Association for Court Management (NACM), and was co-chair of the national COSCA-NACM-NCSC Joint Technology Committee.