Thomas Hollenhorst

Justice Thomas Edward Hollenhorst is a respected legal scholar and Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two. He was appointed to the newly-created position by Governor Deukmejian on July 20, 1988, and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on August 26, 1988. He then took the oath on the same day and was thereafter confirmed by the electorate for a 12-year term on November 6, 1990. Thomas was retained for an additional 12-year term in 2002.

Prior to his appointment to the appellate court, Justice Hollenhorst served as a judge on the Superior Court of Riverside County from March 21, 1985 to August 26, 1988. He was appointed to succeed Judge John D. McFarland, who had passed away, by Governor Deukmejian on March 20, 1985 and was later elected in 1986.

Justice Hollenhorst was also a judge of the Municipal Court of Riverside Judicial District from December 31, 1981 to March 21, 1985. He was appointed to succeed Judge John H. Barnard, who was elevated, by Governor Brown, Jr. on December 9, 1981 and was later elected in 1982. He was the Presiding Judge in 1984.

Before his judicial appointments, Justice Hollenhorst had a successful career as an attorney. He worked as Acting District Attorney in 1981, Assistant District Attorney from 1977 to 1981, and Deputy District Attorney from 1972 to 1977 in Riverside County. He was admitted to the California bar on June 1, 1972.

Justice Hollenhorst obtained his LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia in 1995. He has a J.D. from Hastings College of Law, San Francisco, California (1971) and a B.A. from San Jose State College (now University), San Jose (1968), majoring in Political Science and minoring in French.

Justice Hollenhorst is a member of the California Judges Association (1982- ), Riverside Rotary Club (1979- ) and former member of the National District Attorneys' Association (1976-81), California District Attorneys' Association (1975-81) and Riverside County Bar Association (Secretary, 1980-81). He has been a faculty of the California Continuing Judicial Studies Program (CJER) since 1991, teaching “Judicial Conduct and Ethics”.

A Democrat, Justice Hollenhorst enjoys fishing, playing softball, and riding motorcycles in his free time. He is married with two sons."