Making legal history
PHS grad becomes the first black judge in Stanislaus County
By André Coleman 11/13/2008
Soon after Barack Obama became the first African American to win the presidency, Pasadena High School graduate and former Altadena resident Dawna Frenchie Reeves was making California history as the first black judge in Stanislaus County.
Reeves, 44, came to the Superior Court bench last Thursday after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named her to fill one of 50 judge positions created by state Senate Bill 56, which was signed by the governor in 2006.
The law, which was written to address a growing backlog of criminal cases, created three new positions in Stanislaus County, which currently has a population of about 450,000 people, a number that is expected to grow to more than 825,000 by 2025.
“I was inspired to seek the position by a few senior judges in Stanislaus County that thought I’d be a good fit for the local bench,” said Reeves, a 1982 PHS grad and a former county prosecutor.
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