Gov. Jerry Brown Jr. on Monday named three judges – federal prosecutor Mark E. Cullers, Court Commissioner Mary Dolas and veteran defense attorney Michael G. Idiart – to the Fresno Superior Court bench. The position pays $189,041 annually.
The Democratic governor picked three longtime Democrats.
Cullers, 57, of Clovis, has served as chief of the U.S. attorney’s office, Eastern District of California, in downtown Fresno since 2003. He also served as deputy chief of the federal office from 1997 to 2003 and as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1988 to 1997.
Before becoming a prosecutor, Cullers was an associate attorney at Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann and Girard, a law firm headquartered in Sacramento, from 1986 to 1988. He also was a law clerk for the firm from 1984 to 1986. He earned a law degree from the George Washington University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Cullers fills a vacancy created a year ago when Judge M. Bruce Smith was appointed to the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno.
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Dolas, 56, of Fresno, has served as a commissioner at the Fresno Superior Court since 2006. Her current assignment involves confidential juvenile matters. Dolas was a deputy public defender at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office from 1997 to 2006 and was an attorney in private practice from 1996 to 1997. She earned a law degree from the John F. Kennedy University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Sonoma State University. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Wayne R. Ellison.
Idiart, 65, of Fresno, has been an attorney in private practice in Fresno since 1983. He worked for the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office from 1976 to 1982 as a chief deputy district attorney and as an assistant district attorney. Idiart earned a law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of California. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Carlos A. Cabrera.
Pablo Lopez: 559-441-6434, @beecourts
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