Sonoma County Superior Court
Career Highlights: Appointed to the Sonoma Superior Court in June by Gov. Jerry Brown, 2018, retired 2021. She was a judicial staff attorney at the 1st District Court of Appeal from 1991 to 2001 and 2003-2018, working for a short period in private practice.
Career Highlights: Appointed to the Sonoma Superior Court in June by Gov. Jerry Brown, 2018, retired 2021. She was a judicial staff attorney at the 1st District Court of Appeal from 1991 to 2001 and 2003-2018, working for a short period in private practice.
After a year on the bench, one of the things that still surprises Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Barbara T. Phelan is how hard it is to find the line between engaging with criminal defendants and becoming enmeshed in their troubles.
Part of the issue, she said, is she’s fully briefed on the kind of twists and turns life can throw at a person. Phelan grew up with a single mother in the inner city of Philadelphia, and s... (continued)
