4th District Court of Appeal (Santa Ana)
Career Highlights: Appointed 4th District Court of Appeal justice by Gov. Jerry Brown, Dec. 22, 2017; Orange County Superior Court judges, 2002-2018; partner, Pohlson, Moorhead & Goethals, 1990-2002; supervising and deputy district attorney, Orange County district attorney's office, 1985-90; associate, Robinson and Robinson, 1984-85; deputy district attorney, Orange County district attorney's office, 1978-84
Law School: Loyola Law School, 1977
Career Highlights: Appointed 4th District Court of Appeal justice by Gov. Jerry Brown, Dec. 22, 2017; Orange County Superior Court judges, 2002-2018; partner, Pohlson, Moorhead & Goethals, 1990-2002; supervising and deputy district attorney, Orange County district attorney's office, 1985-90; associate, Robinson and Robinson, 1984-85; deputy district attorney, Orange County district attorney's office, 1978-84
Law School: Loyola Law School, 1977
SANTA ANA — Two years and a job removed from one of the biggest decisions of his life, Justice Thomas M. Goethals recalls his shift in thinking more than anything. While he’d seen a lot in his nearly 40 years as a trial lawyer and judge, a secret network of government informants operating inside the jails seemed too outlandish to believe.
But in the years that followed that initial motion from the public defender assigne... (continued)
