Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed two prosecutors and one public defender to San Bernardino and Riverside superior courts.
Riverside Deputy Public Defender Magdalena Cohen, of Riverside, will serve as a judge at Riverside County Superior Court.
She earned her law degree from Southwestern Law School, and has worked at the Riverside County Office of the Public Defender since 2007. She fills the vacancy from Sunshine Sykes’ elevation to the federal bench.
Riverside Senior Deputy District Attorney Gary Polk, of Cerritos, will also join Riverside County Superior Court.
He joined the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in 2008, and was appointed to Senior DDA in 2016. He won the Misdemeanor Prosecutor of the Year award in 2010, and the Felony Prosecutor of the Year award in 2014. He earned his law degree from the Chapman University School of Law, and fills a new position. He has served as president of the Richard T. Fields Bar Association.
San Bernardino Deputy District Attorney Michael Dauber, of Claremont, will join the San Bernardino County Superior Court.
He earned his law degree from Loyola Law School, and will fill the vacancy created by Judge Elia Pirozzi’s retirement. He worked at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 1998, at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from 1992 to 2002, at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2007. He was Assistant Director of the Riverside County Code Enforcement Department from 2007 to 2008, and has worked at the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office since 2008.
