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Raoul Thorbourne: From Commissioner to Judge |
| On October 31, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of 55-year-old Raoul Thorbourne of Vacaville to the Sacramento County Superior Court. The appointment filled a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Richard K. Park. For Judge Thorbourne, it marked the culmination of years in public service. Raoul Thorbourne was born in Panama. His mother was Panamanian, his father a U. S. citizen working in Panama. Thorbourne came to the United States at the age of eleven or twelve, arriving in Gardena, California. He grew up in Southern California and attended Loyola University, a school he chose for its small classes and supportive atmosphere. He enjoyed his experience there very much and graduated with a degree in history. Judge Thorbourne did not go to law school immediately after graduating, but his positive experience at Loyola led him eventually to the Loyola University School of Law. His legal career after Loyola was largely devoted to public service, beginning with a job at the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Los Angeles. After a brief stint in private practice, he moved to the Bay Area and took a job with the National Labor Relations Board. Other incentives to move north were that he and his wife had family in Northern California. He has now lived in this part of the state for about 25 years and loves it. After 10 years with the NLRB, Thorbourne was encouraged by a friend to work for the Attorney General's Office. The new job, plus the presence of family in the area, brought him to Sacramento in the early '90s. At first, he worked in the Health, Education and Welfare division of the A.G.'s office defending the Departments of Social Services, Health, and Mental Health. But in 1994, the voters of the state passed Proposition 187 limiting the rights of undocumented non-citizens in California. Judge Thorbourne's background in immigration law landed him a position on a state task force to respond to the myriad challenges to the law's constitutionality. For the next several years, this was the main focus of his work. During his time at the A.G.'s office, Judge Thorbourne occasionally served as a pro tem small claims judge. He enjoyed the experience so much that he applied to serve as a Sacramento County Commissioner. He applied twice before he got the job but in 1998 he was in. The natural progression would seem to be a judgeship and, indeed, Thorbourne took that step. Perhaps surprisingly, it turns out that Judge Thorbourne was the first sitting commissioner ever to be appointed to the Superior Court bench in Sacramento County, a fact of which he is understandably proud. He hopes other commissioners will follow his example. So in the fall of 2005, Raoul Thorbourne, an immigrant, was appointed to the bench by Arnold Schwarzenegger, our immigrant Governor, a confluence of facts not lost on Judge Thorbourne, who comments, "This could only happen in America." He says he has really enjoyed the work so far, and believes the transition has not been as much of a challenge for him as it might be for some, due to his years as a commissioner. The main difference, of course, is that he is now involved in jury trials. When Judge Thorbourne is not presiding over the calendar in Department 35, one of his favorite activities is listening to jazz. He is a particular fan of Miles Davis, among others. His current project is transferring an extensive collection of jazz vinyl to CDs. Paul Gerowitz is an '88 alumnus of UC Davis School of Law. He is the former Executive Director of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, and has a solo criminal defense practice in Davis where he is on the Board of Directors of the Davis Progressive Business Exchange. March / April 2006 |