Ukiah-area attorneys become Mendocino County judges

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed two Ukiah-area attorneys to the Mendocino County Superior Court bench.

Jeanine B. Nadel, 57, and David Riemenschneider, 63, will fill seats vacated by judges Ron Brown and Jonathan Lehan, who retired early last year while in the middle of their terms. The seats will be up for election in 2014.

"We're really pleased. This brings us to full capacity," said Presiding Judge Richard Henderson. It was difficult to manage cases efficiently with just six judges, he said. There normally are eight.

Henderson said the new judges are well qualified and have solid reputations as attorneys.

Nadel, currently the Mendocino County Counsel, is replacing Brown.

"I'm excited," she said. "I look forward to serving my community in a different capacity."

Riemenschneider is replacing Lehan.

"I would really hope to provide good, fair, honest judging for folks in Mendocino County," he said.

Nadel has been the Mendocino County counsel since 2005. She previously served as an assistant county counsel and deputy county counsel in Alameda County from 2000 to 2005 and as deputy county counsel for Mendocino County from 1990 to 2000. Nadel was a deputy public defender in the Mendocino County Public Defender's Office from 1989 to 1990. From 1982 to 1989, she worked in Orange County, where she was an associate attorney at Beam and Brobeck LLP and was an associate at Anderson and Bauman. She earned her Juris Doctorate degree and Bachelor of Science degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton.

She is a registered democrat.

Riemenschneider has been a sole practitioner in Ukiah since 2003, working in an office across the street from the Mendocino County courthouse. He was a partner at Nelson and Riemenschneider from 1984 to 2003. His former partner, David Nelson, was appointed to the Superior Court bench in 2003. From 1978 to 1984, Riemenschneider was a staff attorney for the Georgia Legal Services Program.

Riemenschneider earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University.

He is registered to vote as "declined-to-state."

The salary for a Superior Court judge is $178,789.

It's not yet known when the two new judges will be seated. It depends on how quickly they can conclude or transfer their current legal cases.

Henderson is hoping to have them on board within six weeks.