Governor Appoints Bedsworth to Court of Appeal

Gov. Pete Wilson named a longtime Orange County Superior Court judge to the 4th District Court of Appeal, passing over a jurist who drew protests from women’s rights groups for giving O.J. Simpson custody of his children last year.

The governor on Tuesday named William W. Bedsworth, 49, of Mission Viejo as an associate justice in the appellate court serving Orange County.

Among those mentioned as possible finalists on the governor’s list was Orange County Superior Court Judge Nancy Wieben Stock. Though well respected by her peers, Wieben Stock was criticized by the family of Nicole Brown Simpson after her ruling in the child custody case, which drew national attention.

A spokesman for the governor would not discuss whether Wieben Stock was a finalist.

“We don’t comment on judicial candidates,” said Steve Tatum, a spokesman for the governor. “The process is a very confidential one.”

In Bedsworth, the governor tapped a jurist with a long history in criminal law. He has served for the past decade as a Superior Court judge. Before that, Bedsworth was a deputy district attorney in Orange County, from 1972 until 1986. Bedsworth is a graduate of Loyola-Marymount University and UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.

The governor also named a trio of municipal court judges for Orange County.

Elaine Streger, the supervising attorney for the Orange County Superior Court since 1987, was named a Municipal Court judge for Santa Ana. Streger, 56, lives in Mission Viejo.

Clay M. Smith, the 46-year-old assistant general counsel for the Catellus Development Corp., got the nod for a seat on the Municipal Court in Fullerton.

Geoffrey T. Glass, 42, of Laguna Beach was appointed to the Municipal Court in Newport Beach. Glass has spent the last decade as a partner in a private law firm.