Defense Attorney Andrew Liu enters judge contest.

It was already shaping up to be an unusual year on the Monterey County Superior Court bench, with three retiring judges giving voters the rare opportunity to choose three new judges. (If a judge retires in the midst of a six-year term, the governor can appoint a successor, rather than voters choosing.)

At least one of those three races is shaping up to be competitive, with Salinas defense attorney Andrew Liu's announcement Monday that he plans to run for a seat being vacated by Judge Russell Scott's retirement. 

"I believe that my years of experience as a prosecutor, striving to help maintain community safety, and as a defense attorney, working to protect the rights of all who are charged, will put me in a unique position in this race," Liu said in a statement. 

He's running against Deputy DA Steve Somers, who has Scott's endorsement for the seat he occupied for two decades. 

Two other retiring judges, Kay Kingsley and Susan Dauphine, have each endorsed a successor as well (Commissioner Heidi Whilden and Assistant DA Stephanie Hulsey, respectively), with no announced competitors in those two elections. If a candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote in the June 3 primary election, there will be no November runoff. 

Liu has worked as a defense attorney for seven years. Prior to that, Liu worked for the Monterey County DA's felony unit, and for 10 years before that as a prosecutor in the Bronx, where he supervised the domestic violence and sex crimes bureau.