Montenegro appointed federal magistrate judge
SAN DIEGO — Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro on Wednesday was appointed the new magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California’s courthouse in El Centro.
District Chief Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz administered the oath of office to Montenegro on Wednesday in San Diego.
Montenegro will fill the position recently left vacant when Magistrate Judge Peter C. Lewis took retired recall status. She is scheduled to begin work today at the courthouse, and will be assisted by Lewis during the transition.
Prior to her appointment Wednesday, Montenegro had served as a county Superior Court judge for the past four years. Montenegro’s judgeship had also been preceded by her employment as assistant Imperial County counsel.
The El Centro native is a 1987 graduate of Imperial Valley College and also graduated summa cum laude, in 1989, from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Montenegro received her juris doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1992, where she served as president of the UCLA Graduate Students Association.
Her extensive history of serving in local and statewide community service positions includes membership with the Board of the California Bar Foundation (California-ChangeLawyers) as well as the Imperial Valley College Foundation, El Centro Rotary Club and the El Centro Chamber of Commerce.
Montenegro is president of the El Centro Education Foundation, past president of the Imperial County Bar Association, past president of MANA de Imperial Valley and is a member of the California Civic Learning Partnership Committee, focused on increasing the civic education of K-12 students.
In 2017, she co-founded the county Superior Court’s Academy Summer Fellows Program, a mentorship program for Imperial Valley students pursuing a career in law. Montenegro has also been recognized for her community service and has received multiple awards, including the El Centro Soroptimist Ruby Award, the 2012 “Woman of the Year” for the 80th Assembly District of California, the Sure Helpline Crisis Center Iron Woman Award, and the Distinguished Philanthropist award from the Imperial Valley Community Foundation.
A formal swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at the federal courthouse in El Centro in the near future.