Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Page 5
Davis Names Laguna Hills Lawyer, Two Santa Ana Attorneys to Orange Superior Court
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Gov. Gray Davis yesterday named Santa Ana lawyers Frederick P. Aguirre and Robert J. Moss and Laguna Hills attorney Michael J. Naughton to the Orange Superior Court.
Aguirre, 55, is a plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyer who has headed his own firm since 1976. He has also practiced family and business law and has handled criminal defense and probate matters.
Aguirre is a former president of the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the Placentia Linda Hospital Community Advisory Board.
Before setting up his own practice, he was an associate at Cohen, Stokke, Owen & Davis in Santa Ana, and before that was a law clerk and attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County from 1971 to 1974.
He served on the boards of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County. He is now president of Latino Advocates for Education, Inc., a non-profit organization benefiting Latino students, and a trustee of the Fullerton College Foundation and the KOCE TV Foundation.
He is a graduate of USC and of UCLA Law School. Aguirre will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William McDonald.
Moss, 55, is a partner in the firm of Howard, Moss, Loveder, Strickroth & Parker, which he co-founded in 1987. He devotes a majority of his practice to representing defendants in civil litigation, including cases involving claims of construction defects, land subsidence, product liability, police brutality, personal injury, legal malpractice, fraud, insurance bad faith, and unfair business practices.
From 1973 to 1986, he was an associate and partner with the firm of Parker, Stanbury, McGee, Babcock & Combs in Santa Ana.
He is a past president and current member of the Executive Committee of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Orange County Chapter, and has served on ABOTA’s national board and the board of its California affiliate.
He earned an undergraduate degree from UC Irvine, and a law degree from Loyola University. Moss will fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Richard Aronson to the Court of Appeal.
Naughton’s appointment will bring him back to the bench after an absence of more than 20 years. He was appointed to the South Orange County Municipal Court by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 1983, but resigned a year later to return to private practice.
Naughton, 61, is a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He began his legal career prosecuting and defending courts-martial from 1965 to 1969, and was decorated for his service during the Vietnam war.
Following his release from active duty, he established a practice in Orange County, handling civil, criminal and family law cases. In 1980, he was certified by the State Bar of California as a family law specialist.
He has also served as a part-time juvenile court referee and is a former president of the South Orange County Bar Association, of the Family Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association.
He is a graduate Loyola University and DePaul University Law School, both in Chicago. Naughton will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Frances Munoz.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company