Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Page 3
San Diego Superior Court Judge David Rubin Elected CJA President
By SHERRI M. OKAMOTO, Staff Writer
San Diego Superior Court Judge David M. Rubin has been elected California Judges Association president for 2011-2012, beating out Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Thornton House.
The group said yesterday that Rubin, a judge for five years, will succeed San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Keith D. Davis on Sept. 18.
CJA Executive Director Stan Bissey said Rubin has been “instrumental in helping the board navigate this challenging year,” and he was “looking forward to working with him as president, and the entire slate of officers who were elected today.”
San Diego Superior Court Judge Laura Parsky and Sonoma Superior Court Judge Allan Hardcastle were selected as the group’s new vice presidents, and San Mateo Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner was re-elected as its secretary/treasurer.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judges J. Stephen Czuleger and Victor L. Wright are also set to begin their three-year terms on the CJA executive board in September, along with Justice M. Kathleen Butz of the Third District Court of Appeal, San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Barbara A. Kronlund, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Maddock, Butte Superior Court Judge Robert A. Glusman, Riverside Superior Court Judge Craig G. Riemer and retired Shasta Superior Court Judge Gregory M. Caskey.
Rubin’s election over House, who has served on the bench since 1996, comes on the heels of the disclosure that 16 Los Angeles judges have left the association. The departures appear the result of a division of views over the centralization of administration under the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Rubin remarked that CJA “started a very important conversation about governance” with the issuance of a member survey earlier this year, and “my intention is that the organization continue that conversation, within the organization and with branch partners.”
The judge added that the he wants the group “to continue to be a voice in the discussions around the budget as it affects our branch.”
Although he acknowledged “these are terrible economic times,” Rubin insisted “we need to keep our courtrooms open.”
Rubin joined the bench in 2006.He currently presides over a family law courtroom and serves as board liaison to the CJA’s Family Law Committee.
He has previously served as board liaison to the CJA’s Compensation & Benefits Oversight Committee, on his court’s Technology and Bench-Bar Relations committees, and was chair of its Domestic Violence Committee.
Prior to taking the bench, he was a prosecutor for 20 years with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, serving as assistant chief deputy of the North county Branch office from 1998 to 2002.
In 2006, he was honored by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office as Prosecutor of the Year, and Rubin was presented with the Outstanding Service by Public Attorney Award in 2001 by the San Diego County Bar Association.
He is married to attorney Todd F. Stevens, a partner at the San Diego law firm of Keeney, Waite & Stevens.
Parsky, daughter of President George W. Bush confidant Gerald Parsky, was tapped for a judgeship in 2006 by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Before this, she served as counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general in the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2002 to 2003, and was the director of international justice and contingency planning with the National Security Council from 2003 to 2004.
Hardcastle has been a part of the Sonoma Superior Court since 1997. He served as presiding judge of the superior court in 2003 and 2004, and is currently presiding judge of the Juvenile Division.
He previously was with the law firm of Geary, Shea & O’Donnell and a managing partner with the law firm of Babin, Seeger & Hardcastle.
Weiner has been a judge since 2002, prior to which she was a partner in the Burlingame firm of Cotchett, Pitre & Simon, handling complex civil litigation. She is a former president of the San Mateo County Bar Association and a former member of the State Bar Board of Governors.
Copyright 2011, Metropolitan News Company