East Bay judge to fill vacancy on Marin bench
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed an East Bay judge to a vacancy in Marin County Superior Court.
Judge Kevin Murphy was one of 18 judicial appointments the governor's office announced Thursday. Murphy is taking the former seat of Roy Chernus, who retired in September after serving for 12 years.
“I am very grateful to the governor for this appointment and look forward to continuing serving the people of California on the Marin County Superior Court bench,” said Murphy, who lives in Mill Valley.
Murphy holds a law degree from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor's degree from Occidental College. He started as an Alameda County deputy district attorney in 1985 and served for 21 years. He also served as a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice in 1994.
While he was a county prosecutor, Murphy worked on the high-profile case of Ignacio Rafael De La Fuente Jr., who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women over an 18-month period. De La Fuente is the son of the former Oakland City Council member.
In 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Murphy, a Democrat, to fill a vacancy as an Alameda County Superior Court judge. He spent 17 years on the Alameda County bench.
Judge Thomas Nixon of Alameda County Superior Court said Murphy served there “with great distinction.”
“While all of us here will feel his loss, we are thrilled for him and are sure those at the Marin County Superior Court recognize what a wonderful judge Gov. Newsom has just added to their bench,” Nixon said.
Murphy drew national media attention in June when he was robbed at gunpoint by masked thieves near Alameda County's Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. He was not injured.
Murphy joins 11 judges in Marin, where the last judge to be appointed was Beth Jordan in 2017. Murphy's appointment is for the remainder of Chernus' term, which expires in 2028.
“We welcome the Honorable Judge Murphy to the Marin County bench,” Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli said.
“The Marin County Bar Association is just thrilled with his appointment, and we're really looking forward to working with him and having him as part of the Marin legal community,” said Theresa Hurley, executive director of the association.
Danella Debel, a spokesperson for Newsom, said that the annual compensation for appointed judges is $232,399.