The Honorable Brett H. Morgan

The Hon. Brett H. Morgan (deceased) served as a judge for the San Joaquin County Superior Court in California. Morgan was appointed to the bench by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010, filling the vacancy created by the elevation of the Hon. William J. Murray, Jr. to the Third District Court of Appeal. He passed away on August 28, 2020.

Over the course of his judicial career, Morgan was assigned to various collaborative courts, including the Drug Court, the Parole Re-Entry Court, and the Accountability Court. He has also presided over a Juvenile Delinquency Calendar.

Morgan earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1984. He then completed a J.D. at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1988. As a law student, he clerked in the Law Offices of James W. Lewis.

After graduating from law school, Morgan began his legal career as an associate in The Law Office of James W. Lewis in 1989. However, his time there was brief. Later that year, he joined the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. He spent the next ten years as a deputy district attorney, sitting as the head of the Child Abduction Recovery Team as well as a member of the investigative team tasked with recovering children from all over the country.

Then, in 1999, Morgan became a deputy attorney general for the California Office of the Attorney General. He litigated criminal appeals, writs, and superior court cases on behalf of the People, and he served as a representative of the Attorney General’s Office on California’s DNA Task Force. He served in that capacity until 2004, at which time he became Chief Deputy Inspector General for the California Office of the Inspector General (2004 to 2008) and Chief of Staff for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (2008 to 2010).

When not presiding over legal proceedings, he enjoyed running, spending time in the gym, and traveling abroad.

He was registered as a Republican.