Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Page 3
Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints 12 to Superior Courts Around State
By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday appointed 12 people, including six Republicans, five Democrats and one registered decline-to-state, to superior court judgeships in 10 counties.
The governor named Assistant U.S. Attorney Ioana Petrou of the Northern District of California to the Alameda Superior Court and Contra Costa County Deputy Public Defender Christopher R. Bowen to the Contra Costa Superior Court, named Fresno Superior Court Commissioner Jonathan M. Skiles as a judge of that court, and appointed Bakersfield attorney Thomas S. Clark and Assistant Kern County Counsel Stephen D. Schuett to the Kern Superior Court.
He tapped Janesville attorney Michele Verderosa for the Lassen Superior Court, Monterey Superior Court legal research attorney Elisabeth K. Mineta to join that court, Carmichael attorney James P. Arguelles for the Sacramento Superior Court, and San Diego attorney Kenneth J. Medel for the San Diego Superior Court.
Schwarzenegger also appointed Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Javier Alcala and Superior Court Commissioner Deborah A. Ryan to the Santa Clara Superior Court, and named his deputy legal affairs secretary, Daniel P. Maguire, to the Yolo Superior Court.
Assisstant U.S. Attorney
Petrou, 42, has been an assistant U.S. attorney since 2004, and before that was counsel for O’Melveny and Myers and an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York. A Democrat, she joined the State Bar in 1994 after attending college and law school at UC Berkeley, and she previously practiced with Foley and Lardner and with Proskauer Rose.
Bowen, 42, has been a deputy public defender since 1994, having been admitted to the State Bar the preceding year. He is a Democrat, and he graduated from Santa Clara University and the University of Virginia School of Law
Skiles, 48, became a court commissioner last year after serving in the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office and in the Fresno City Attorney’s Office. A Democrat, he attended California State University, Stanislaus and Santa Clara School of Law before joining the State Bar in 1995, and he previously practiced with Thoits Love Hershberger and McLean, and with Gray Carey Ware and Freidenrich.
Clark, 62, has been a senior partner for Arrache, Clark and Potter since 1985, and practiced with various incarnations of the firm for seven years before that. A Republican, he attended college and law school at USC, and he joined Income Equities Corporation and then served as a deputy district attorney after he joined the State Bar in 1973.
Schuett, 57, has been with the Kern County Counsel’s office since 1985, and was previously an associate attorney for Chain, Younger, Lemucchi, Noriega, Cohn, Stiles and Rodriguez after serving as associate counsel for City National Bank and for Pierson and Letteau. He is a Republican, and he joined the State Bar in 1979 after attending college and law school at UCLA.
Sole Practitioner
Verderosa, 52, has been a sole practitioner since 2000, and before that served in the offices of both the Lassen and Sonoma district attorneys. A Republican, she joined the State Bar in 1996 after graduating from Santa Rosa Junior College and Empire College School of Law.
Mineta, 50, has served as a legal research attorney for the Monterey Superior Court since joining the State Bar in 1988, with the exception of a period from 1999 to 2005 when she was a sole practitioner. Registered decline-to-state, she attended UC Berkeley and Santa Clara University School of Law.
Arguelles, 44, has been an attorney for Stevens, O’Connell and Jacobs since 2005 and a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2002. Before that, he served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and as an associate for Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.
A Republican, Arguelles became a State Bar member in 1996 after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard Law School. He also previously served as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn L. Huff of the Southern District of California.
Medel, 56, has owned and been the principal attorney for The Medel Law Firm since 2001, and before that was a partner with Medel and Rawers, and with Ault, Deuprey, Jones and Gorman. A Democrat, he was also previously as a deputy district attorney in San Diego County, and he joined the State Bar in 1979 after attending UC Irvine and the University of San Diego School of Law.
Alcala, 57, has served in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office since he joined the State Bar in 1983. He attended college and law school at the University of Santa Clara, and is a Republican.
Court Commissioner
Ryan, 57, has served as a court commissioner since 1999, and before that served as counsel for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office. She also previously served as project coordinator for the Comprehensive Adjudication of Drug Arrestees program for the Santa Clara County Executive Office and as a deputy public defender.
A Democrat, Ryan graduated from UC Davis and Santa Clara University School of Law before joining the State Bar in 1977.
Maguire, 43, has been Schwarzenegger’s deputy legal affairs secretary since 2005, and was a sole practitioner for four years before that. He also previously practiced with Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe and with Holme Roberts and Owen, and served as a law clerk for Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Andrew Kleinfeld.
Maguire is a Republican, and he joined the State Bar in 1997 after attending Stanford and Harvard Law School.
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