Countywide : Goldstein Elected as Presiding Judge

Orange County Superior Court Judge Leonard Goldstein was elected by his 55 colleagues Friday to the post of presiding judge of the court.

Goldstein, first appointed to Superior Court in 1977 by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., will assume his new duties in in January. He defeated Judge James L. Smith to gain the prestigious position.

“It’s a heavy responsibility to head the third largest court in the state, but I’m looking forward to it,” Goldstein said. He cited as his top priority the need to get state approval to add more judges to head off a growing backlog of cases in the court system.

Goldstein, who has concentrated of late on civil litigation, came to the court amid some controversy. He traveled the unusual route of being elevated by Brown from the Municipal Court to Superior Court in 1977, then losing his position in a 1978 election and being reappointed by Brown to the Superior Court in 1980.

His initial appointment to the Municipal Court also drew some skepticism from local attorneys who questioned the appointment of Goldstein, then of North Hollywood, to a local post.