Countywide : Three Are Appointed to Superior Court Bench
Three new Superior Court judgeships in the county were filled Wednesday by Gov. George Deukmejian.
West Orange County Municipal Judge Kathleen O’Leary, 35, of Orange was elevated to the Superior Court bench, where she will become the fifth woman. She has been a municipal judge for five years.
O’Leary will join Judges Betty Lou Lamoreaux, who was the first woman Superior Court judge in the county, Judith Ryan, Jean Rheinheimer and Linda H. McGlaughlin. O’Leary’s appointment is effective July 1.
Also appointed were Gary L. Taylor, 47, of Villa Park, who is a Newport Beach trial lawyer, and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Rylaarsdam, 49, of Irvine.
The three were appointed to newly created positions on the county Superior Court approved by legislators last year. The court will now have 54 judges.
Superior Court judges are paid $77,129 a year.
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