Justice Dato appointed to CJP

Supreme Court Makes Appointment to Commission on Judicial Performance

SAN FRANCISCO—The California Supreme Court today appointed Justice William S. Dato, of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One (San Diego), as a member of the Commission on Judicial Performance.
Justice Dato’s nearly three-year term begins April 1. Justice Dato succeeds Presiding Justice Ignazio R. Ruvolo, of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division 4 (San Francisco), who is retiring from the bench.
Justice Dato was confirmed as an appellate justice in February 2017. He previously was a San Diego Superior Court judge for 13 years, serving as supervising judge of the North County branch, presiding judge of the court’s appellate division, and in a variety of substantive assignments.
Before his appointment to the bench, Justice Dato was a certified appellate law specialist in private practice and worked as an appellate court staff attorney with Justice Howard B. Wiener of the California Court of Appeal, Justice Mathew O. Tobriner of the California Supreme Court, and Chief Justice Rose E. Bird of the California Supreme Court. He has also been an adjunct professor at both the University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law, teaching appellate practice and products liability.