Richard S. Kemalyan

Richard S. Kemalyan was appointed to the bench by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. He currently presides over felony trials. Prior to his appointment, he had a lengthy career in civil litigation, beginning as a law clerk and eventually becoming a general partner at Chase, Rotchford, Drukker & Bogust, where he worked for 20 years. His work included defending municipalities and police departments in civil rights cases and handling complex litigation such as asbestos cases. He also worked at the firms Kemalyan and Richland, and Dwyer, Daly, Brotzen and Bruno. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (Phi Beta Kappa) and his J.D. from Loyola Marymount University.