APPOINTMENTS
December 24, 2001
SACRAMENTO
Governor Gray Davis today announced the appointments of Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard D. Fybel as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (Orange County), and Senior Assistant District Attorney Claudia Silbar, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Kirkwood and private attorney Peter J. Polos as Judges of the Orange County Superior Court.
Judge Fybel, 55, of Newport Beach, has been serving in the North Justice Center in Fullerton since his appointment last year to the Orange County Superior Court by Governor Davis. He has handled criminal and civil trials, pre-trial conferences, felony preliminary hearings, and civil law and motion matters. Since July 2001, Judge Fybel has presided over a felony master calendar court.
Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Fybel was a partner with the law firm of Morrison & Foerster from 1981 to 2000. He specialized in complex business litigation involving contractual, banking, energy, trade secret, labor and real property disputes. From 1971 to 1981, Judge Fybel was an associate and a partner with the law firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliot.
Judge Fybel is a member and officer of the Board of Trustees of the Orange County Public Law Library and a member of the Budget and Judicial Orientation Committees of the Orange County Superior Court. He is also a past President of the Board of Directors of the UCLA Law Alumni Association and current member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Councillors.
Judge Fybel earned bachelor of arts and juris doctorate degrees from UCLA, where he was a member of the Law Review. Judge Fybel will fill the vacancy in one of the new positions in the Fourth Appellate District. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Senior Presiding Justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Justice Daniel J. Kremer. The Fourth Appellate District includes the counties of Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego.
Ms. Silbar, 43, of Costa Mesa, is one of the highest ranking attorneys in the District Attorney's office, which she joined in 1989. She presently manages the Homicide, Sexual Assault, Family Protection, Gangs, Felony Charging, and Felony Trial units of the office. Before assuming her current responsibilities, Ms. Silbar had tried over 50 criminal jury trials, including a special circumstances murder case (People v. Gary Galen Brents) in which the defendant received the death penalty.
Ms. Silbar served from 1987 to 1989 in the United States Attorney's office in Los Angeles, where she represented the government in civil litigation. From 1986 to 1987, she served as a trial attorney with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C., where she prosecuted commodity frauds. From 1984 to 1986, Ms. Silbar was an attorney with the Commonwealth Attorney's office in Louisville, Kentucky, where she prosecuted criminal offenses.
Ms. Silbar is a member of the California District Attorneys Association, and has served on the Judiciary Committee of the Orange County Bar Association. She also assisted in forming the California School Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for schools in her community. Ms. Silbar has received many awards and commendations for her service, including the "Diligent Prosecutor" award from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Ms. Silbar earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Kentucky, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Louisville. Ms. Silbar fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Ryan.
Ms. Kirkwood, 50, of Santa Ana, has headed the Felony Trial Unit of the District Attorney's office since 1999. She previously served for six years in the Homicide Unit, where she tried over 25 murder trials, including six special circumstances cases. One of her high-profile cases was the prosecution of Eric Wayne Bennett, a rape and murder case that was solved through DNA analysis. The jury convicted the defendant of all charges and he was sentenced to death.
Before joining the District Attorney's office in 1986, Ms. Kirkwood was engaged in the private practice of law in Orange County. In 1994, she received the outstanding prosecutor award from the Orange County Deputy District Attorneys Association. Ms. Kirkwood is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, California Women's Lawyers Association, California District Attorneys Association, and National District Attorneys Association. Ms. Kirkwood earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Colorado, and a juris doctorate degree from Western State University Law School. Ms. Kirkwood fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronald Owen.
Mr. Polos, 36, of Corona Del Mar, has been a partner with the Newport Beach law firm of Lopez, Hodes, Milman, Skikos & Polos since 1996. He previously was an associate in the Law Offices of David M. Harney from 1990 to 1996. Mr. Polos specializes in medical malpractice and pharmaceutical litigation on behalf of plaintiffs and was one of the lead attorneys in the prosecution of the Fen-Phen diet drug cases against American Home Products Corporation. He has also handled numerous cases involving products liability, premises liability, breach of contract, fraud, automobile injury, insurance bad faith, and wrongful death.
Mr. Polos has served as a Judge Pro Tempore in the Orange County Superior Court, presiding over civil settlement conferences. He is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and has served on the boards of directors of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and Consumer Attorneys of California.
Mr. Polos earned a bachelor of arts degree from UCLA, and a juris doctorate degree from Loyola Law School. Mr. Polos fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John McOwen.
