Mark Ralphs

El Dorado County is down one less judge with the gubernatorial appointment of Mark Ralphs to the bench.

The 57-year-old from Diamond Springs has been an assistant public defender at the El Dorado County Public Defender’s Office since 2007, where he has served as a deputy public defender since 1997. He is based in the South Lake Tahoe office.

He was a sole practitioner from 1990 to 1997.

“On behalf of the El Dorado Superior Court, I am delighted to hear that Gov. (Jerry) Brown has appointed Assistant Public Defender Mark Ralphs to our bench. He is a longtime resident of our county who has raised his family here. Mark’s work as an attorney in private practice as well as for the government have provided him with the diverse skills necessary to handle the challenges of being a judge,” El Dorado County Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury told Lake Tahoe News. “For the past several years, Mark has been assigned to the South Lake Tahoe branch of the Public Defender’s Office, and I have had an opportunity to observe his excellent work. He will be a hard working, fair and unbiased jurist.”

Ralphs fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Superior Court Judge Nelson Brooks last March. The term expires in 2022.

El Dorado County is still down two judges because of Steve Bailey’s resignation last year as well as Jim Wagoner’s.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report