Timothy S. Buckley

Timothy Steven Buckley is a retired Associate Justice from the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. He was appointed to this position by Governor Deukmejian on December 19, 1990, succeeding Associate Justice Hollis G. Best. His appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on December 27, 1990, and he took his oath on the same day. He was later confirmed by the electorate on November 8, 1994, for a 12-year term that began on January 3, 1995. Before his appointment to the Court of Appeal, Buckley served as a Judge for the Superior Court in Kings County from January 7, 1985, to December 27, 1990. He was elected to this position on June 5, 1984, succeeding Judge Dennis L. Beck. Prior to this, he was a Judge for the Justice Court in the Hanford Judicial District, Kings County, from September 26, 1978, to January 6, 1985. He was appointed to this position by the Kings County Board of Supervisors on September 19, 1978, following the death of Judge Ernest W. Dunn. He was elected in 1980 and reelected in 1982, both times unopposed. Before his judicial career, Buckley was in private law practice in Lemoore, California, from April 1, 1975, to October 1, 1978. He was a partner at Sharp, Maroot, Behrens & Buckley from April 1, 1976, to October 1, 1978, and at Atkinson & Buckley from April 1, 1975, to April 1, 1976. Prior to this, he practiced law in Hanford, California, from December 17, 1973, to April 1, 1975, with the firm Dunn, Timm & Mayo. Buckley has been a member of the California Judges Association since 1979. He is also an author, having written an article titled "Parens Patriae: An Effective Remedy Lost" on antitrust, which was intended for publication in Santa Clara Lawyer but was not published due to a Supreme Court decision that made the article moot. Buckley served in the U.S. Army from February 15, 1968, to February 15, 1970, as a Specialist 5th Class, stationed in Germany. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Santa Clara Law School, where he was an Associate Editor for the Santa Clara Lawyer from 1972 to 1973. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated from Lemoore High School in Lemoore, California, in 1963. Born on September 26, 1945, in Hanford, California, Buckley is married and has two children. He was admitted to the California Bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, on December 17, 1973. He is a practicing Roman Catholic.