Superior Court Judge, Prosecutor Wife to Retire

Friday, January 9, 2015

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Superior Court Judge, Prosecutor Wife to Retire

By a MetNews Staff Writer

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald Rose and his wife, Los Angeles County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Matsumoto, will retire in the coming weeks, both said yesterday.

Rose, a commissioner and judge for 14 years, told the MetNews that after 45 years in the criminal justice system, the first 31 as a criminal defense attorney in Boston and then Los Angeles, he is ready for a change.

He will, however, continue to teach a course on “Law and Psychiatry” at USC, he said.

Rose, who recently turned 66, graduated from New York University and Boston University School of Law, then worked in Boston for three years. Admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972, he spent 28 years in the Public Defender’s Office before being appointed a commissioner of the Superior Court in 2000.

Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named him a judge of that court in 2008. His last working day will be Jan. 30, he said, although his official retirement date will be March 20.

Matsumoto, who turned 64 yesterday, is a graduate of UCLA and San Fernando Valley College of Law, and has been with the District Attorney’s Office for 35 years. Her last working day will be Jan. 29.

The couple said their only immediate plans for their retirement are to travel, in particular to New Zealand, where they have a daughter who works in advertising.

“This first year, we’re just going to leave our schedules open and see what life brings us,” she said.

Working in the office has been “fantastic,” she said. “I’ve been so lucky to be part of the executive team under three district attorneys—Gil Garcetti, Steve Cooley, and Jackie Lacey.” Lacey served as chief deputy during the last part of Cooley’s tenure, then named Matsumoto her chief deputy when she succeeded Cooley two years ago.

Also retiring, the MetNews has learned, is Superior Court Judge Thomas White, effective Feb. 19. White, 70, was a Newhall Municipal Court Commissioner from 1998 until court unification made him a Superior Court commissioner in 2000. Gov. Gray Davis made him a judge in August 2002.

White is a graduate of UCLA and the University of San Diego School of Law. He began his career as an Air Force JAG officer, trying criminal cases from 1970 to 2974. After leaving service, he had a general practice before founding the Los Angeles Law Clinic, with offices in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope valleys.

In other news, the court yesterday informed its judicial officers that Deputy Alternate Public Defender Barbara McDaniel had been elected commissioner. Her election was expected, as she was the highest-ranked candidate on the list of nominees chosen by a judicial panel, and the top candidate is, by longstanding practice, elected as each vacancy occurs.