Defense Attorney to Join Bench

An Orange County criminal defense attorney who has been at the center of some of the county’s most sensational cases was named a Superior Court judge Friday by Gov. Gray Davis.

Thomas Goethals joins the Orange County bench after a 25-year legal career that was divided between terms as a deputy district attorney and private practice. As a prosecutor, he won three death-penalty verdicts and numerous high-profile convictions.

“I personally cannot think of a better appointment for the governor,” said Maury Evans, a retired senior prosecutor who once supervised Goethals in the district attorney’s office. “He’s very, very bright and one of the most ethical people I’ve met.”

“He’s a very gifted courtroom lawyer. He has a superb temperament for judicial office,” said Ronald Brower, one of Orange County’s most experienced criminal defense lawyers and a former colleague of Goethals’ in the district attorney’s office.

Goethals, 50, said the appointment is one of the biggest thrills of his career.

“The governor’s not appointing a lot of criminal defense lawyers, so I feel fortunate that he chose to appoint me,” he said.