Thursday, February 5, 2009
Page 1
Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb Says She Will Retire
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb will retire this spring after 29 years on the bench, the judge said yesterday.
Bobb, 63, told the MetNews yesterday that she had not yet set a date for her last day, but predicted it would be sometime in May or June.
“I’m ready for a new challenge,” she said, although she admitted she would miss her colleagues and all of the staff she has worked with, praising them as “hardworking,” “good friends and teachers.”
The jurist said she plans to do private mediation and some non-profit work, as well as continuing her interest in music.
Bobb, who began playing the violin at the age of 5, said she plans to continue playing with the Palisades Symphony Orchestra and the newly formed Lawyers Philharmonic Orchestra.
Looking back over her career, Bobb reflected that she appreciated the opportunity to have a “very varied judicial experience,” including 10 years presiding over criminal matters, five years in civil, seven years in family law, and four years in the probate court.
“I’m very fortunate, very privileged to have worked in so many different areas,” she said.
Bobb ran unopposed for her seat on the Superior Court bench in 1994. She was appointed for the interim period between the election and the commencement of her elected term by then-Gov. Pete Wilson.
She began her judicial career on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, to which she was appointed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 1980. She served as supervising judge of the Van Nuys branch of the court from 1988 until 1990, assistant presiding judge of the municipal court from 1991 to 1992, and supervising judge from 1992 to 1993.
The New York native attended Wellesley College, graduating with a degree in political science in 1967. She then attended law school at UC Berkeley and became a staff attorney with San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.
After two years, Bobb became the director of the organization, and in 1976, she became the executive director of the Los Angles Legal Aid Foundation, where she remained until being tapped for the bench.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company