Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Monday announced the appointment of six California superior court judges, which include: One in Alameda County; one in Napa County; one in Orange County; one in Sonoma County; and two in Yolo County.
Alameda County Superior Court
Colin T. Bowen, 55, of Oakland, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Bowen has served as supervising deputy city attorney at the Oakland City Attorney’s Office since 2015. He was interim board counsel at the Oakland Citizens Police Review Board from 2014 to 2015 and a sole practitioner from 2013 to 2015. Bowen was a partner at Clay and Bowen LLP from 2007 to 2013 and a deputy public defender at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 2007. He was an associate at McKenna and Cuneo from 1992 to 1994 and at Miller, Starr and Regalia from 1990 to 1992. Bowen earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Roy Hashimoto. Bowen is a Democrat.
Napa County Superior Court
Scott R. L. Young, 39, of Napa, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Napa County Superior Court. Young has served as a commissioner at the Napa County Superior Court since 2018. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Napa County District Attorney’s Office from 2017 to 2018 and from 2007 to 2014. Young served as a deputy district attorney at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from 2014 to 2017 and was a sole practitioner from 2005 to 2007. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Oregon University. He fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on December 13, 2018. Young is a Democrat.
Orange County Superior Court
Sandy N. Leal, 46, of Irvine, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Orange County Superior Court. Leal has served as a deputy chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California since 2015, where she has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2004. She served as an assistant district counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1999 to 2004. Leal earned a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Timothy J. Stafford. Leal is registered without party preference.
Sonoma County Superior Court
Mark A. Urioste, 44, of Santa Rosa, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Sonoma County Superior Court. Urioste has served as a commissioner at the Sonoma County Superior Court since 2018. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2018 and was an associate at Babin and Seeger in 2006. Urioste served as a research attorney and judicial assistant to the Honorable Julie Spector at the King County Superior Court from 2003 to 2005. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Lewis and Clark College School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut. Effective December 31, 2018, he will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rene A. Chouteau. Urioste is registered without party preference.
Yolo County Superior Court
Tom M. Dyer, 44, of Sacramento, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Yolo County Superior Court. Dyer has served as chief deputy legislative affairs secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. since 2015. He served as legislative director at the California Department of Finance from 2012 to 2015 and at the California Department of Personnel Administration from 2010 to 2012. Dyer served as staff counsel at the California Department of Social Services in 2009, labor relations counsel at the California Department of Personnel Administration from 2006 to 2008 and enforcement counsel at the California Fair Political Practices Commission in 2006. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Sutter County District Attorney's Office from 2003 to 2005. Dyer earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kathleen M. White. Dyer plans to continue serving in his current position in the Governor’s Office until the end of the Administration. Dyer is a Democrat.
Peter M. Williams, 50, of Sacramento, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Yolo County Superior Court. Williams has served as deputy secretary, general counsel at the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency since 2016. Prior to that, he served in several positions at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2001 to 2015, where he was supervisor of the Fraud and Special Prosecutions Unit and was a cross-designated special federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in both the Eastern and Central Districts of California. He was an associate at Boutin Jones Inc. from 2000 to 2001, at Carle, Mackie, Power and Ross from 1998 to 2000 and at Bolling, Walter and Gawthrop from 1996 to 1998. Williams earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Steven M. Basha. Williams is a Democrat.
The compensation for each of these positions is $207,424.
