San Diego

San Diego Municipal Judge E. Mac Amos was unanimously elected Thursday to a one-year term as presiding judge of San Diego Municipal Court.

Amos, 44, was elected to the position at the annual meeting of judges, said D. Kent Pedersen, the Municipal Court administrator.

Amos will take over his duties Jan. 1, 1989. He succeeds Presiding Judge H. Ronald Domnitz.

“We are extremely pleased to have a person of Judge Amos’ background and experience elected as our incoming presiding judge,” Domnitz said in a prepared statement.

“As the second-largest municipal court in the state and one that has undertaken many innovative measures to improve court operations, we are confident that Judge Amos will provide the leadership necessary to continue our pursuit of excellence,” Domnitz said.

Amos was appointed to the bench in August, 1982, by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. after the resignation of Judge Lewis Wenzell, who was facing a recall election after being convicted of soliciting prostitutes.

Amos was unsuccessful last year in a Superior Court judicial race against S. Charles Wickersham, who prosecuted former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock.

As presiding judge, Amos will be responsible for court administration, case assignment and representing the court with many agencies. He has recently served as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee within the court.

Amos holds an engineering degree from Stanford University and is a 1968 graduate of UCLA Law School. He served as an assistant U. S. attorney in San Diego from 1971 to 1974 before going into private practice.

Amos and his wife, Patti, have three sons, Scott, Randy and Rusty.