Longtime CA Appellate Justices Bigelow, Benke Retiring
CJAC Liability Reform Insider (July 2021) – Presiding Justice
Tricia A. Bigelow, who serves the Second District Court of
Appeal, Division Eight, retired effective June 30 after
35 years of public service in California. Bigelow was
confirmed to her position in 2010 after serving as an
associate justice for the division. She’s received two
prestigious legal awards and has authored several publications
during her career.
Bigelow spent her career in Los Angeles, starting as a former
California Deputy attorney general and Los Angeles deputy
district attorney before being appointed to the Los Angeles
Municipal Court in 1995. She was then elevated to the Los Angeles
Superior Court in 1998. Bigelow announced her retirement in
April, noting she will remain active in the Los Angeles legal
community.
Associate Justice Patricia D. Benke, who serves on the California
Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, is planning to
retire July 31. Benke has served the Fourth Appellate
District since 1986 when she was appointed at the age of 37. At
the time she was the youngest person ever appointed to a court of
appeal and the first woman appointed to Division One.
Benke is recognized for her “meteoric” rise through the
court system. Following her time with the State Attorney
General’s office in San Diego, she was appointed to the San Diego
Municipal Court and then to the San Diego Superior Court. Benke
was also considered at various times for the California Supreme
Court.
She graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in
1974, where she was managing editor of the Law Review. Benke is
currently an adjunct professor at National University.