Gov. Gavin Newson has appointed two San Diego attorneys to be judges in San Diego Superior Court, his office announced this week.
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Private practitioner William Patrick Dudley and federal prosecutor Michael Garabed will finish the terms of two recently retired judges.
Dudley spent about 24 years as a solo practitioner in San Diego at his firm, the Law Office of Patrick Dudley. The firm website indicates he was a criminal defense attorney whose cases included representing people accused of violent felonies as well as fraud and other white-collar crimes.
Before going out on his own in 2002, Dudley spent two years as a research attorney at the Law Office of David Dudley, according to the governor’s office.
He earned his law degree from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco, and joined the state bar in 1999.
Outside of the courtroom, Dudley has been a member of the San Diego region of the governor’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, which vets and provides feedback on candidates seeking judicial appointment. The governor’s office confirmed he was appointed to the position in 2019.
He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronald Frazier, who retired June 29.
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Federal prosecutor Garabed has spent the last 11 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in San Diego, working in the civil division.
Before going to work for the government in 2015, Garabed was at law firm Reed Smith LLP from 2002 to 2014, where he was a partner, according to the governor’s office.
Garabed earned his law degree from University of Southern California Gould School of Law and joined the state bar in 2022.
He will fill the seat vacated by the Aug. 3 retirement of Judge Jeffrey Fraser.
Dudley is a Democrat and Garabed is registered without party preference, according to the governor’s office. They are expected to be sworn in sometime next month.
Annual compensation for superior judges in California is $244,727, and they serve six-year terms.
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