On Dec. 24, Governor Jerry Brown announced the appointment of Alan K. Cassidy and Rubén A. Villalobos to judgeships in the Stanislaus County Superior Court following the retirement of Judges Susan D. Siefkin and Hurl W. Johnson.

Cassidy, 57, of Modesto, has served as chief deputy district attorney at the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office since 2008, where he was senior deputy district attorney from 1998 to 2008.

He served as an associate at Perry and Wildman from 1994 to 1998 and at Grisez, Orenstein and Hertle from 1991 to 1994. Additionally, Cassidy served as a deputy district attorney at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from 1990 to 1991.

Cassidy, a Democrat who will fill Siefkin’s seat, received his Juris Doctor degree from the Southwestern Law School and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Irvine.

Villalobos, 41, of Modesto, has been partner at Villalobos 2 Legal Group since 2012 and was partner at the Law Office of Villalobos, Meyer and Borthwick from 2002 to 2012.

He served as a deputy public defender at the Stanislaus County Public Defender’s Office in 2002 and from 2000 to 2001 and as an assistant federal public defender at the Federal Public Defender Office, District of Nevada from 2001 to 2002, where he was also a research and writing attorney from 1999 to 2000.

Additionally, Villalobos served as a research attorney at the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office from 1998 to 1999.

Villalobos, a Democrat who will fill Johnson’s seat, earned a Juris Doctor degree from the UC, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the UC, Berkeley.

The two will each receive $184,610 in compensation annually for their judgeships.

Of note, newly reelected Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager will be sworn in to her third term Jan. 6.