Division Three

Portrait

J_Hanasono_363

Job Title

Nathan Scott

Acharya, Kiranmayi — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:26:44 +0000

Nathan Scott Acharya, Kiranmayi Wed, 02/19/2025 - 14:26

Fourth District, Div. Three

Division

Start Date

Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Nate Scott brings 12 years of trial court experience, including 9 years on the civil panel and 3 years on the family law panel of the Orange County Superior Court. For 4 years, he was also assigned to hear election cases. For 3 years, he was also Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division.

As a civil trial judge, Justice Scott was named Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates–OC chapter, the OC Trial Lawyers Association, and the OC Hispanic Bar Association.

Elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom and rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the JNE Commission, Justice Scott proudly belongs to the California Latino Judges Association, the Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers, and the Hispanic Bar Association. He serves regularly on the Association of Business Trial Lawyers–OC’s judicial advisory council and board of governors. He co-chairs the Orange County Bar Association’s Civility Task Force and supports the Unity Bar of Orange County.

Grateful for the support of so many, Justice Scott pays it forward through mentorship and community outreach. He has worked alongside Governor Newsom’s judicial mentoring program, the Commission on Judicial Performance, the California Latino Judges Association, the OC Hispanic Bar Association, ABTL–OC Young Lawyers Division, Elizabeth G. Macias Legal Studies Academy at Santa Ana High School, OCBA Bridging the Gap program, Constitutional Rights Foundation–OC, NAACP–Long Beach, Judges in the Classroom, and UCI’s Saturday Academy of Law.

Before Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Superior Court, Justice Scott was a Court of Appeal research attorney. He began his career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Cox Castle Nicholson LLP. He attended Long Beach public schools and graduated from Long Beach City College, UCLA summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School.

Justice Scott and his wife, a librarian, have three wonderful children.

Person Type

Portrait

justice-nate-scott

Job Title

Justice Halim Dhanidina

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 23:24:04 +0000

Justice Halim Dhanidina Geffen-Shields… Mon, 07/15/2024 - 16:24

Second District Court of Appeal

Division

Start Date

Thu, 08/23/2018 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Dhanidina was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in nearby Evanston where he attended public school. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Pomona College in Claremont, California and earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1997 from UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, California.

Beginning in 1998, as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Justice Dhanidina prosecuted serious felony cases for the elite Hardcore Gang and Major Crimes divisions. In 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed him to serve as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he presided over 72 jury trials in the Compton and Long Beach courthouses. In 2018, Governor Brown, Jr. appointed Justice Dhanidina to Division Three of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District where he had been a justice pro tempore for nearly a year, reviewing over 100 appeals. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him on August 23, 2018.

Justice Dhanidina is a devoted teacher and mentor and has worked as an adjunct professor at the Chapman University Fowler School of Law, Western State Law School, Whittier Law School and the Glendale University College of Law, where he has taught criminal trial advocacy, civil trial advocacy, criminal procedure, professional responsibility, and California criminal law. He has also taught fellow judges statewide on topics including felony sentencing, case management and domestic violence, while also serving on the faculty for the B.E. Witkin Judicial College for new judicial officers.

Justice Dhanidina serves on the boards of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Muslim-Jewish NewGround. He has been recognized for his service and achievements, having received awards from the California State Assembly, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association, UCLA School of Law, South Asian Network, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Person Type

P_JusticeDhanidina_2019_21_Rt_pp1RS

Portrait

Retirement Date

Thu, 04/01/2021 - 12:00

Job Title

Thomas Fulton Crosby, Jr.

Clarke, Peter — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:04:25 +0000

Thomas Fulton Crosby, Jr. Clarke, Peter Mon, 03/25/2024 - 13:04

Division

Start Date

Fri, 01/01/1982 - 12:00

Biography

June 4, 1940 - January 23, 2004
Judge, Orange County Superior Court, 1981-1982
Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 3, 1982-2001

Thomas F. (Tom) Crosby was born in Long Beach, California. An assiduous student, Crosby got mostly A’s at Wilson High School, where he also played varsity basketball. After graduating from Stanford University, Crosby received his juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1965. He spent two years with the Peace Corps in Arequipa, Peru. While in Peru, Crosby not only did community development work, but also taught Jurisprudence and Conflict of Laws at the University of Peru School of Law.

Upon his return to the United States, Crosby worked briefly as a deputy district attorney in Orange County from 1968 to 1973, then as a partner at two firms — Crosby & Luesebrink and Crosby, Garey & Bonner — before running his own private practice in Newport Beach from 1978 to 1981, where he concentrated on criminal defense.

In 1981, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Crosby to the Orange County Superior Court. Thirteen months later, Brown elevated Crosby to be an associate justice at the newly formed Fourth Appellate District, Division Three. Crosby remained at the court for two decades.

Crosby firmly believed in promoting access and transparency in judicial proceedings. In 1983, he wrote an opinion affirming a newspaper’s right to criticize judicial rulings: “A newspaper is perfectly free to opine that court orders are illegal and to criticize judges for violating the rights of innocent persons and exceeding their authority.” (Grillo v. Smith (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d 868.) In 1998, he led the court in requiring oral argument on dispositive law-and-motion matters. “Cold words on a printed page are not the same as a live presentation.” (Mediterranean Construction Co. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 257.) “We do not subscribe to the obscurantist notion that justice, like wild mushrooms, thrives on manure in the dark.” (Titmas v. Superior Court (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 738.)

In a matter of first impression, Crosby expanded on the role of the exclusionary rule in high school disciplinary cases: “The social cost in terms of harm to other students, to say nothing of the damage to the morale of parents and teachers, is too dear.” (Gordon v. Santa Ana Unified School Dist. (1984) 162 Cal.App.3d 530.)

Crosby was most proud of a 1994 decision he wrote overturning the City of Santa Ana’s anti-camping ordinance, a decision itself reversed by the California Supreme Court. In Tobe v. City of Santa Ana (1994) 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 386, rev. granted, Crosby wrote, “The attack [on homelessness] must be on the cause, not the victims; for they in the main are no more content with their circumstances than anyone else is.” He later authored an opinion recognizing the defense of necessity in criminal prosecutions of homeless persons for sleeping in public. (In re Eichorn (1998) 69 Cal.App.4th 382.)

Crosby was fairly nonplussed when Tobe or some of his other cutting edge opinions were vacated by the California Supreme Court. (See, also Randall v. Orange County Council (1994) 28 Cal.Rptr.2d 53, rev. granted [Boy Scouts cannot exclude atheists]; People v. Janini (1999) 89 Cal.Rptr.2d 244, opn. depub. [reversing prostitution convictions for lap dancing].) Indeed, he would joke that the California Supreme Court had assigned a full-time staffer just to monitor his decisions.

Crosby had what his colleague and friend Justice Ed Wallin called a “tart pen.” For example, he issued an opinion affirming the dismissal of a season ticketholder’s fraud claim against the L.A. Rams by observing: “It is common knowledge that professional sports franchisees have a sordid history of arrogant disdain for the consumers of the product.” In dissenting on an environmental case, he depicted Orange County as a place “whose history displays a distinct preference for tract homes and asphalt to meadows and trees. . . .” (Fund for Environmental Defense v. County of Orange (1988) 204 Cal.App.3d 1538.)

Crosby’s favorite expression, “It’ll make you crazy if you let it.” As he wrote in one of his opinions, “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you.” (Long v. Valentino (1989) 216 Cal.App.4th 1287.) Fellow Justice Bill Bedsworth said he had a “blast furnace of a heart. His mind made him good. His heart made him great.” Upon his retirement, L.A. Times columnist Jerry Hicks wrote, “the court may be losing its most gifted writer.”

On Crosby’s final day at the court, the entire court staff (justices, judicial attorneys and deputy clerks alike), assembled in the courtroom for a group photograph. In tribute to Crosby’s omnipresent neckwear, each person in the photograph sported a bow tie.

Crosby’s retirement was short-lived. Of his death at age 63, Justice Arthur Gilbert wrote, “People like Tom don’t merely ‘pass away.’ Tom is still there, in your face, challenging you to think and to be honest. Tom had much to say on every topic and issue known to humankind. His words reflect his character, wit, imagination, wisdom, compassion and intellect.”

Volume 116 of the Official California Appellate Reports contains a memorial tribute to Tom Crosby. (See 116 Cal.App.4th 1420-1441.)

Person Type

Portrait

Crosby_140

Retirement Date

Mon, 01/01/2001 - 12:00

Job Title

Martha K. Gooding

Clarke, Peter — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 20:12:34 +0000

Martha K. Gooding Clarke, Peter Fri, 03/22/2024 - 13:12

Division

Start Date

Tue, 09/26/2023 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Martha K. Gooding was nominated to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 19, 2023. Justice Gooding was rated “Exceptionally well qualified” for the position by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California and was confirmed by the unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on September 26, 2023.

Prior to Justice Gooding’s appointment to the Court of Appeal, she served on the Orange County Superior Court, to which she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in December 2013. After sitting initially on the Superior Court’s Limited Criminal Panel in the Stephen K. Tamura-West Justice Center, she moved to the Central Justice Center and the Court’s Civil Panel in January 2016. She served as a member of the Court’s Executive, Finance, and Grand Jury Selection Committees, as well as the Judicial Mentor Committee. She also served on the Superior Court’s Appellate Panel.

Justice Gooding earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1981, graduating first in her class and Order of the Coif. She earned her B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.

Following law school, Justice Gooding was a law clerk to Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She began her legal career at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin in San Francisco, where she became a partner in 1989. After moving to Orange County in 1992 to help start the Howard Rice Southern California office, she became a partner in Howrey LLP in 2000 and later joined Jones Day in 2010 as a partner in its Irvine office.

During her 30 years in private practice, Justice Gooding was selected for leadership roles in many legal and other organizations. She held a variety of leadership positions in the ABA Section of Litigation for more than 17 years, including serving in the ABA House of Delegates and as a member of the Litigation Section Council. She also served as President of the Orange County Federal Bar Association, President of the Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and a member of the Board of Directors of the California Bar Foundation. She was selected by the judges of the U.S. District Court for Central District of California as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and as a member of the Central District’s Magistrate Judges Merit Selection Panel. She also served on the Central District’s Pro Bono Panel. Justice Gooding was a founding member of the Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court and served on the Board of Directors of The Friendship Shelter, a homeless shelter in Laguna Beach. Justice Gooding currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association Masters Division.

In 2009, Justice Gooding received the Orange County Anti-Defamation League’s Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award, which honors lawyers who make exceptional contributions to their community and the legal profession, are role models of ethics and leadership in the legal community, and embody the ADL’s mission to secure justice and fair treatment to all.

Justice Gooding has long been involved in mentoring young lawyers and students interested in a legal career. She served as a mentor in the Newport Harbor High School mentor program for more than a decade, served as a mentor at UCI Law School, and participated for many years in the Orange County Superior Court Judicial Externship Program. Justice Gooding has been a volunteer judge in the UC Irvine Law School moot court competition and the Constitutional Rights Foundation mock trial competition.

While in private practice, Justice Gooding published frequently on a variety of legal topics. She was co-recipient of the Patent & Trademark Office Society’s 2009-2010 annual Rossman Award, recognizing the PTOS Journal article that made the greatest contribution to the fields of patent, trademark and copyright law. She was selected as one of 11 faculty for a Federal Judicial Center Patent Litigation Seminar for U.S. District Court judges and co-authored a guide for District Court judges on compensatory damages issues in patent infringement actions.

Justice Gooding lives in Orange County with her husband of more than 30 years; they have two adult children. She is a Michigan Wolverine by marriage and motherhood.

Person Type

Justice-Martha-Gooding-102423

Portrait

Job Title

Richard Aldrich

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:47:25 +0000

Richard Aldrich JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:47

Division

Start Date

Sat, 01/01/1994 - 12:00

Biography

Richard Dennis Aldrich is an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three. He was appointed by Governor Wilson in 1994 and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, and later by the electorate. Prior to his appointment, he practiced civil litigation for 28 years and was previously a Judge of the Superior Court in Ventura County. He is a member of the Judicial Council of California, International Academy of Trial Judges, Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University, California Judges Association, American Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, and is a Fellow and Judicial Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and American College of Trial Lawyers. He was awarded “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by the American Board of Trial Advocates and “Appellate Justice of the Year” by Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles. He holds a LL.B. from the UCLA School of Law and a B.S. from Loyola University Los Angeles.

Section One:

Justice Richard Dennis Aldrich Justice Richard Dennis Aldrich has had a long and distinguished career in the legal field, serving in various capacities in the California Court of Appeal and the Ventura County Superior Court.

Section Two:

Professional Experience From 1994 to 2017, Justice Aldrich served as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three. He was appointed to this position by Governor Pete Wilson. Prior to this, he was a Judge of the Superior Court in Ventura County, California from 1991 to 1994, appointed by Governor George Deukmejian. In 1992, Justice Aldrich played a key role in launching Ventura County’s Multi-Door Courthouse. This program, based on a concept by Professor Frank Sander of Harvard Law School, offers litigants various methods for resolving their disputes without going to trial. These methods include arbitration, mediation, settlement conferences, and other procedures that allow for early intervention by the judge to try and reach a settlement before the case goes to trial. The program continues to operate in Ventura with a success rate of over 40% in settlements without trial. Justice Aldrich has received numerous awards for his work, including the “Trial Judge of the Year” award in 1992 from the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association, and the “Outstanding Jurist of the Year” award in 1992 and 1993 from the Ventura County Bar Association.

Section Three:

Committees and Task Forces Justice Aldrich has chaired several committees and task forces, including the “Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee” for the Ventura Courts, the “Bench, Bar Media Committee”, the “Fiscal and Budget” and “New Legislation and Rules Committees”. He also played a significant role in making California the first state to adopt a mechanism for persons with disabilities to request and receive special accommodations in the courts.

Section Four:

California Court of Appeal In 1994, Justice Aldrich was elevated to the California Court of Appeal, where he served until his retirement in 2017. During his tenure, he chaired several committees and task forces, including the Select Committee on Trial Court Coordination Implementation, the Business Court Study Task Force, and the Complex Litigation Task Force.

Section Five:

Honors and Awards Justice Aldrich has been recognized for his work with numerous honors and awards, including being published in Best Lawyers in America and California Lawyer Magazine, receiving the “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award from the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the “Jurist of the Year” award from the California Judicial Council.

Section Six:

Legal Societies and Organizations Justice Aldrich is a member of several prestigious legal societies and organizations, including the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has also served on the Board of Regents for Loyola Marymount University.

Person Type

Portrait

aldrichr.jpg

Retirement Date

Tue, 02/28/2017 - 12:00

Job Title

Attachments

Richard Aldrich was appointed to the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three by Governor Wilson in 1994. He had previously been a judge at the Superior Court in Ventura County, and had practiced civil litigation for 28 years. He was a member of many organizations, including the Judicial Council of California, International Academy of Trial Judges, and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was also awarded the "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the "Jurist of the Year Award" by the California Judicial Council.

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Herbert W. Walker

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:47:25 +0000

Herbert W. Walker JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:47

Division

Start Date

Fri, 05/24/1996 - 12:00

Biography

Herbert Weston Walker was a Retired Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three. He was appointed by Governor Wilson and confirmed on May 24, 1996. Before his appointment, he served as a Judge on the Superior Court in Napa County. He authored Napa County Rules for Administration of Civil Litigation and was a past member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Orange County Bar Association, and the Rotary Club. He held a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School, a B.A. from Stanford University, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1959. He was a Republican and enjoyed the outdoors, photography, woodworking, and travel.

Person Type

Portrait

Walker

Retirement Date

Tue, 01/23/2001 - 12:00

Job Title

Attachments

Herbert Weston Walker was appointed to the California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three by Governor Wilson in 1996. He had previously been appointed to the Superior Court of Napa County in 1985, and was re-elected in 1986 and 1992. He authored Napa County Rules for Administration of Civil Litigation, and served as a Presiding Judge of the Appellate Department. He had a private law practice from 1960-1985, and was a Deputy County Counsel for Los Angeles County from 1958-1959. He graduated from the University of Southern California Law School in 1958, and from Stanford University in 1955. He enjoys the outdoors, photography, woodworking, and travel.

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Betty Barry-Deal

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:47:17 +0000

Betty Barry-Deal JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:47

Division

Start Date

Fri, 07/18/1980 - 12:00

Biography

Betty Barry-Deal was appointed by Governor Brown Jr. in 1980 as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three. She served as a Judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County from 1977 to 1980, and was a private law practitioner from 1963 to 1977. She was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments in 1980 and by the electorate in 1982. She retired from the bench in 1990 and served as a Commissioner on Governor Wilson's Commission to Redraw State's Political Boundaries in 1991. She was a member of the California Judges Association, American Bar Association, Alameda County Bar Association, Queen's Bench, and Phi Beta Kappa. She authored numerous significant decisions while on the bench.

Person Type

Retirement Date

Sat, 06/30/1990 - 12:00

Job Title

Attachments

Betty Barry-Deal was a retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three. She was appointed by Governor Brown Jr. in 1980 and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. She was also a Judge of the Superior Court in Alameda County from 1977-1980 and a private law practitioner from 1963-1977. She authored several significant decisions, including Wylie v. Gresch, Barbara A. v. John G., and In re Lynna B. She was also a member of the Governor Wilson's Commission to Redraw State's Political Boundaries in 1991.

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Parker Wood

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:47:13 +0000

Parker Wood JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:47

Division

Start Date

Wed, 10/22/1941 - 12:00

Biography

Parker Wood
Associate Justice, Division 3
October 22, 1941 to October 27, 1959
Presiding Justice, Division 1
October 27, 1959 to December 31, 1978

Born November 15, 1893 in Maywood, Missouri
Died August 29, 1982 in Los Angeles, California

EDUCATION
J.D., Washington University Law School, St. Louis, Missouri
La Grange College, La Grange, Missouri

State Bar Admission September 25, 1916

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE
Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 1
October 27, 1959 - December 31, 1978, Appointed by Governor Brown

Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 3
October 22, 1941 - October 27, 1959, Appointed by Governor Culbert Olson

Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court
January 3, 1933 - November 12, 1941, by election

Judge, Los Angeles Municipal Court
February 1, 1926 - January 3, 1933, by election

Justice of the Peace, Los Angeles Township Court
1923 - 1926, by election

Person Type

Portrait

woodp.jpg

Retirement Date

Sun, 12/31/1978 - 12:00

Job Title

Paul Vallée

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:47:11 +0000

Paul Vallée JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:47

Division

Start Date

Sat, 08/14/1948 - 12:00

Biography

Paul Vallée
Associate Justice, Division 3
August 14, 1948 to December 31, 1961

Born July 6, 1891 in Island Pond, Vermont
Died January 18, 1968

EDUCATION
LL.B., University of Southern California School of Law

State Bar Admission July, 1913

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE
Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 3
August 14, 1948 - December 31, 1961, Appointed by Governor Earl Warren

Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court
December 31, 1946 – August 14, 1948, Appointed by Governor Earl Warren

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
President, State Bar of California, 1938 – 1939

Private practice, 1922 – 1946

Instructor, University of Southern California School of Law, 1919 – 1949

Deputy and Chief Deputy, County Counsel, 1918 – 1922

Deputy Public Defender, 1914 – 1918

Person Type

Portrait

valleep.jpg

Retirement Date

Sun, 12/31/1961 - 12:00

Job Title