Commissioner Laurel Hoehn took her oath of office as San Bernardino’s newest judicial officer Nov. 22.
“I am very humbled to be here, and I am honored to serve in this capacity,” Hoehn said.
As a commissioner, Hoehn will be a judicial officer who handles many of the same duties a judge does. Commissioners serve only at the appointment of existing judges. She will be able to oversee a trial at the consent of both parties.
Hoehn was the Supervising Deputy County Counsel for San Bernardino, and joined the county in 2019.
Prior to that role, she worked at Cihigoyenetch, Grossberg & Clouse, where she made partner and made the firm Grossberg & Hoehn.
She’s worked in both trials and appellate cases in areas of civil rights, personal injury and employment law, according to the court.
Fifty-eight well-qualified lawyers applied to fill this commissioner position, and the applicants had to be interviewed by the entire bench of over 100 existing judicial officers, Presiding Judge Lisa Rogan said. Despite the competition, and the intimidation of that many interviewers, Hoehn stuck out from her very first impression, Rogan said.
“We need the best and the brightest to be on the bench, to engage with the community… and Hoehn fills that role perfectly,” Rogan said.
Hoehn gave a brief speech in which she stressed the importance of upholding the judicial system. She thanked the judicial officers for appointing her, and thanked residents of San Bernardino County for having faith in those judicial officers.
“I am mindful of the tremendous weight of this,” Hoehn said.
“I know the community of San Bernardino will be lucky to have her on this bench,” Rogan said.
Hoehn graduated from the University of La Verne, College of Law.
