05/16/2008 GAAS:270:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Two Judges to Yolo County Superior Court
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointments of Janet Gaard and Paul K. Richardson to judgeships in the Yolo County Superior Court.
Gaard, 52, of Davis, has served as chief assistant attorney general for the division of public rights at the California Department of Justice (DOJ) since October 2007. She previously was special assistant attorney general and director of legislative affairs from 1999 to 2007 and deputy attorney general from 1984 to 1999 at the DOJ. Gaard served as a staff attorney for the Third District Court of Appeal from 1983 to 1984. Gaard earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Fresno. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Doris Shockley. Gaard is a Democrat.
Richardson, 60, of Sacramento, has served as a commissioner for the Yolo County Superior Court since 2006. He previously served as a deputy district attorney for the Yolo County District Attorney's Office from 2002 to 2006, research attorney for the California Senate Republican Office of Fiscal Policy and Research from 2000 to 2001 and general counsel to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board from 1995 to 2000. From 1991 to 1995, Richardson served as the district attorney for Placer County and, from 1989 to 1990, was deputy district attorney for the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. Prior to that, he was an associate with the law firm Bolling, Walter & Gawthrop from 1986 to 1989 and special assistant district attorney and assistant district attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts from 1983 to 1986. Richardson earned a Juris Doctorate degree from McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Donna Petre. Richardson is a Republican.
The compensation for each position is $178,789.
