The Hon. Colin T. Bowen is a judge for the Alameda County Superior Court in California. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2018. He filled the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Roy Hashimoto (Ret.).
He is a registered Democrat.
Judge Bowen received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1987. He went on to earn his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1990.
Bowen began his legal career in private practice, first working as an associate at Miller, Starr, and Regalia for two years beginning in 1990, and then at McKenna and Cuneo for two years.
He joined the Alameda County Public Defender's Office in 1994, where he worked as a deputy public defender for thirteen years.
Bowen re-entered the private sector in 2007, first serving as a named partner at Clay and Bowen LLP until opening his own firm in 2013.
He then worked briefly as interim board counsel for the Oakland Citizens Police Review Board before landing at the Oakland City Attorney's Office in 2015. While there, Bowen served as a supervising deputy city attorney V, in which he was tasked with supervising the litigation division's deputy city attorney's, the Paralegal Division, and the Claims Unit. He also handled complex civil cases and served as an advisor to various city officials and agencies. Bowen was serving in that capacity at the time of his appointment to the Superior Court in 2018.
While on the bench, Judge Bowen has presided over a general criminal calendar at the Fremont Hall of Justice.
Bowen has served as a speaker for the Juvenile Prevention and Empowerment and has also worked with the Anna Yates Elementary School Mock Trial Program.
His memberships have included the Alameda County Bar Association and the Charles Houston Bar Association of Oakland.