Two new judges appointed

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointments of Donald J. Ayoob and Leland Davis III to judgeships in the San Mateo County Superior Court.

Ayoob, 55, of Half Moon Bay, has been the chief assistant state public defender for the Office of the State Public Defender since 2002, where he previously served as a deputy state public defender from 1988 to 2002. Ayoob has been an adjunct assistant professor of law for Hastings College of the Law since 1993. He served as a deputy public defender for the Orange County Public Defender’s Office from 1982 to 1987. Ayoob earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Ayoob fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Norman J. Gatzert. Ayoob is a Democrat.

Davis, 52, of Oakland, has been a sole practitioner since 2003. He was a deputy public defender for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office from 1987 to 2003 and a trial attorney for the Law Offices of Hunter and Anderson from 1984 to 1987. Davis earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Carol L. Mittlesteadt. Davis is a Democrat.

The compensation for each position is $178,789.