New Stanislaus County judge sworn in

Newly appointed Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Robert Westbrook was sworn in at a ceremony Friday afternoon.

The oath of office was administered by Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova. Westbrook will be assigned to family court, becoming the fourth judge in that department.

Westbrook, 43, had served as a deputy public defender at the county public defender’s office since 2000. He briefly left to work in San Joaquin County in 2002, but returned to Stanislaus in 2004 and has been here since. The Colorado native earned his law degree from the University of California at Davis School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Whiteside.

Westbrook is Gov. Jerry Brown’s first Stanislaus Superior Court appointee. The last appointee was Judge Valli Israels by former Gov. Schwarzenegger.

“We are so pleased and fortunate to have someone like Robert Westbrook join our bench,” said Presiding Judge Loretta Murphy Begen. “I know the families in our complicated and emotional dissolutions will benefit from his knowledge, understanding and calm judicial demeanor.”