Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Page 3
Governor Appoints Judges to San Diego, Riverside, Fresno Superior Courts
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has named a total of seven new Superior Court judges to posts in Riverside, San Diego, and Fresno counties.
The appointees, named late Friday, are Irma Poole Asberry and Mark E. Petersen to Riverside; Gary M. Bubis, Maureen F. Hallahan, Harry Powazek and Joel R. Wohlfeil to San Diego; and Kimberly J. Nystrom-Geist to Fresno.
Asberry, who succeeds Judge Thomas Douglass Jr., specializes in family law and has been a member of the State Bar since 1979. Before entering private practice in 1988, she was a partner in the law firm of Butterwick & Bright, which she joined in 1980.
The 52-year-old appointee earned her law degree from the University of San Diego and her undergraduate degree from UC Riverside.
Petersen, 45, has served as a commissioner on the Riverside Superior Court since September 2006 and was appointed to succeed Judge Dennis McConaghy.
Admitted to the State Bar in 1987, Petersen began his career as a civil litigator in private practice, then worked as a Riverside County Deputy Public Defender from 2000 to 2005. From 2005 until his election a commissioner, he had a private practice focusing on criminal law.
Petersen holds degrees from Western State University College of Law and California State University, Long Beach.
Bubis has been a referee for the San Diego Superior Court since 1997 and fills the vacancy created by Judge Rafael Arreola’s retirement.
From 1992 to 1996, he was a San Diego County deputy public defender and from 1990 to 1992, he served as a deputy for the San Diego County Counsel’s Office. He was a partner in the firm of Menzies and Bubis from 1980 to 1990.
Bubis, 53, was admitted to the State Bar in 1979 after earning his law degree from the University of San Diego. He also holds a masters degree from California State University and a bachelors degree from Northern Illinois University.
Hallahan, a member of the State Bar since 1981, is currently a partner in the San Diego firm of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, specializing in business law. She previously worked for Mulvaney, Kahan & Barry, as well as Miller, Boyko & Bell.
The 52-year-old appointee, who succeeds Judge Charles Wickersham, earned her law degree from the University of San Diego and her undergraduate degree from San Diego State University.
Powazek, 52, has served as a commissioner for the San Diego Superior Court since 1995. He previously spent a decade in private practice handling family law matters.
A graduate of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law and State University of New York at Buffalo, he was admitted to the State Bar in 1981. He succeeds the late Judge J. Michael Bollman.
Wohlfeil has been a partner in the personal injury law firm of Boudreau, Albert & Wohlfeil since 1997.
Admitted to the State Bar in 1981, his prior experience includes working in the firm of Bauman & Wohlfeil from 1991 to 1996 and one year subsequently as a civil litigator in private practice.
Wohlfeil, 51, earned degrees from the Western State University College of Law and Northern Arizona University. He succeeds Judge Raymond Edwards Jr.
Nystrom-Geist has been a commissioner for the Fresno Superior Court since 2005, and succeeds Judge Ralph “Chip” Putnam.
While in practice, the 50-year-old appointee specialized in family law, working first as an associate in the law office of Judith Leslie Soley upon her 1993 State Bar admission, and then as a partner in the firm of Leslie-Soley & Nystrom-Geist.
She holds degrees from the San Joaquin College of Law and California State University, Fresno.
Asberry, Hallahan, Nystrom-Geist, and Wohlfeil are Democrats; Petersen and Bubis are Republicans; and Powazek is registered decline-to-state.
The compensation for all positions is $171,648 annually.
Copyright 2007, Metropolitan News Company