Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary to retire from the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three

SANTA ANA—Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three will retire on July 31, 2025, after serving nearly 44 years as a distinguished member of the California judiciary.

The mood is somber in the halls of 601 West Santa Ana Boulevard. Justice O’Leary’s steady leadership guided the court through extraordinary challenges, such as the implementation of e-filing and the management of the COVID-19 crisis. Justice O’Leary also integrated a new generation of Justices and staff after dozens of court mainstays preceded her into retirement in the past decade. Her indefatigable excellence in deciding cases and administration will be impossible to replace.

"Presiding Justice O’Leary’s impact on the judiciary and our community is immeasurable. Her vision, integrity, and tireless service have left a lasting mark on this court and the people it serves. I am personally grateful for her mentorship and proud to have worked alongside a leader who exemplifies the very best of public service." —Justice Maurice Sanchez

A Massachusetts native, Justice O'Leary moved to California with her family before she started high school. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University and received her juris doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law. Following law school, Justice O’Leary worked for the Orange County Public Defender’s office for five years, learning priceless lessons about the justice system that inform her work to this day.

But Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., barely allowed Justice O’Leary to get started as a practicing attorney before he recognized her potential as a judge. Governor Brown appointed Justice O’Leary to the West Orange County Municipal Court on October 2, 1981. Governor George Deukmejian then appointed her to the Orange County Superior Court five years later. In 1997, her colleagues elected her Presiding Judge of the Orange County Superior Court, making her the first woman in Orange County to hold that position. Her colleagues reelected her to that position two more times.

While serving as Presiding Judge, Justice O’Leary oversaw the unification of the county’s superior and municipal courts. She also led that court through the aftermath of the Orange County bankruptcy and transition to state funding for the courts.

In 1999, Governor Gray Davis appointed Justice O’Leary to serve as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three. She began her term in January 2000. As an Associate Justice, she worked to ensure the Court of Appeal remained in the county’s seat of government when it was deciding on a new location to ensure everyone had access to the appellate court.

In 2011, things came full circle when Governor Brown appointed Justice O’Leary to serve as Presiding Justice. Stating the obvious, the California State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation rated Justice O’Leary “exceptionally well qualified” and her appointment was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on February 10, 2012. Justice O’Leary became the first woman to hold this position in Orange County.

Justice O’Leary dedicated her career to improving court administration and access to justice for all. She served on and chaired numerous Judicial Council committees formed to address access and fairness, financial accountability and efficiency, fiscal and administrative issues, the future of the courts, and self-represented litigants. She also served as the California Supreme Court’s Chairperson of the Jury Selection Work Group studying changes or new measures to guard against impermissible discrimination in jury selection.

In recognition of her work promoting access to justice and improving court administration, Justice O’Leary has received many prestigious awards during her judicial career, including the following: California Judicial Council’s Jurist of the Year Award (1999); Orange County Bar Association’s Franklin G. West Award (2006); Aranda Access to Justice Award (2007); and California Women Lawyers’ Joan Dempsey Klein Award (2014). She has also been recognized by the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County (1998), the Orange County Asian America Bar Association (2001), and the Orange County Lavender Bar Association (2014).

“Justice O’Leary’s dedication, leadership, and mentorship have made a lasting impact on all of us here at the court of appeal and in the legal community. She is an inspiring, energetic and collaborative leader who brings our court together as a family. Her work and legacy will continue in the many she has inspired throughout the years and the courts she has touched.” —Justice Joanne Motoike