Judge David F. De Alba: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

CA Bar #: 90936 (December 1979)

Appointed By: Gov. Joseph Graham Davis, Jr.

Biography

The Hon. David F. De Alba was a judge for the Sacramento County Superior Court in California. He was appointed to the bench in 2001 by former Governor Gray Davis. He retired from the bench in late 2022.


Judge Alba received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1976. He went on to earn his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1979.


Alba clerked for the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District in Sacramento before beginning his legal career at the California Department of Justice's Office of the Attorney General in 1979. He started out as a deputy attorney general, until being appointed the special assistant to then-attorney general Bill Lockyer in 1999, a position he would hold until his appointment to the bench two years later. During his time there, Alba specialized in criminal appeals, complex tort litigation, and law enforcement policy.


While on the bench, Judge Alba served as the assistant presiding judge and as presiding judge, he also served as the supervising judge of the Felony Home Courts and Probate Division. Some of his assignments have included presiding over the Civil Division and the Juvenile Court.


His professional organizations have included the California Judicial Council's Criminal Law Advisory Committee, the La Raza Lawyers Association, and the Hispanic Law Enforcement Task Force.


He has also served as a volunteer for the United Way of Sacramento, and for Habitat for Humanity.


He was named Judge of the Year in 2011 by the Sacramento Bar Association.


Judge Alba, who grew up in San Francisco, California, was the eldest of six children. His family immigrated from Mexico.

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