Leonard Torrealba is a Judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court . He was appointed to the position by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Leonard was born and raised in Venezuela and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Special Studies in Interntional Relations from UCLA and his law degree from the George Washington University in Washington D.C. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a trial lawyer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for 34 years where is was assigned to various trial and management positions including the Public Integrity, Healthcare Fraud, Major Narcotics and Consumer Protection divisions. He litigated consumer protection cases against businesses and large corporations and, as a leader in immigrant protection, he founded an immigrant consumer protection unit, the Notario Fraud Unit, for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and worked on immigrant protection legislation. He served on the District Attorney’s task force investigating horse racing fatalities and co-authored the Santa Anita Park Task Force Report of Investigation. His proposed horse racing safety legislation was recently signed into law by the Governor of California.
Leonard is a leader in inclusion, diversity and education. He was a co-founder the Latino Prosecutors Association and Latino Prosecutors Foundation and served as a multi-term president for both organizations. He also served as a Mexican American Bar Association board trustee until his appointment to the bench and is currently a Mexican American Bar Foundation board trustee. The Foundation awards scholarships to law students. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School where he teaches Advanced Criminal Procedure and serves as a mentor to future trial lawyers and community advocates. During his career as a trial lawyer, he served as a crime prevention facilitator for Project Lead and the ACT program where he taught elementary school students how to make good life choices and to reject intolerance and bullying. He believes human rights education begins at a young age, in elementary school.
