George N. Zenovich

George N. Zenovich is a retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Fifth Appellate District. He was appointed to this position by Governor Brown Jr. on January 23, 1979, succeeding Associate Justice Roy J. Gargano who had retired. His appointment was confirmed by the Commission of Judicial Appointments on February 28, 1979, and he took his oath on March 23, 1979. He was confirmed by the electorate in 1982 and retired from the bench on June 30, 1984.

Before his appointment, Zenovich served as a California State Senator from 1971 to 1979. He was elected in 1970 from the 16th Senatorial District, which primarily covered Fresno County. After reapportionment in 1974, the district, now the 14th, included the western half of the City of Fresno and Fresno County, Madera, Merced, and Mariposa Counties, and most of Stanislaus County. Prior to his senatorial role, he was a California State Assemblyman for the 32nd District (Fresno) from 1962 to 1970. He also had a private law practice in Fresno, California from 1953 to 1979, where he worked as a sole practitioner.

Zenovich has been a member of several organizations including the American Bar Association and the Fresno County Bar Association since 1953. He is also a life member of the Fresno Musicians Local 210 since 1940 and the Los Angeles Musicians Local 47 since 1949. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars since 1947, the CSUF Alumni Association since 1948, and the Themis Society Southwestern Law School. He was formerly a member of the American Legion, Fresno from 1947 to 1980, and the NAACP, Fresno from 1960 to 1980.

In 1972, Zenovich served as an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at California State University, Fresno. He holds a Certificate of Attendance from the International Academy of Law, The Hague, Holland (1954), an LL.E from Southwestern College of Law, Los Angeles, California (1952), and a B.A. from Fresno State College (1948). He is also a graduate of Fresno High School (1940), Washington Junior High School (1937), and Lowe Grammar School (1934), all located in Fresno.

Zenovich was born on April 29, 1922, in Fresno, California. He is married and has two children. He plays the bass and enjoys photography. He was admitted to the California Bar on July 22, 1953, to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 29, 1969, and to the U.S. District Court Eastern District of California on November 15, 1976. He is a Democrat and was a member of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee from 1956 to 1962. He is also a member of St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Church in Fresno.