Profile: Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa

Since he was elected to the Santa Barbara Superior Court in 1996, Judge Frank Ochoa has made an impact on both the court system and his community. That commitment was honored in the final days of 2012 with the Santa Barbara County Bar Association’s “John T. Rickard Judicial Service Award.”ochoa

The honor is named after a former judge who also served terms as city attorney and mayor of Santa Barbara in the 1940s and 1950s.

Judge Ochoa sometimes makes national news in high-profile celebrity cases, like that controversy around Randy Quaid and his wife. But locally he is known for involvement in juvenile law programs and for handling a range of cases. He currently handles a criminal trial department with both felony and misdemeanor cases, and has handled the Juvenile Delinquency calendar for the court.

His experience has led to several state-level roles. He has served as a member of the California Judicial Council’s Trial Court Budget Commission and on the Presiding Judges’ Advisory Committee. Judge Ochoa has also served on the Executive Board of the California Judges’ Association, and has previously chaired the Association’s “Court Administration Committee.” 

He was also elected to the Executive Board of the Juvenile Court Judges of California and served on that group’s “legislative review team.”
Check out the judge’s formal bio here. Find out more about the recent award here.