On Monday, April 17, 2023, Ventura Superior Court Judge Tari L. Cody was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six, after serving for more than 22 years as a Superior Court Judge for the Ventura Superior Court. Associate Justice Code was nominated to the position by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 31, 2023, and later confirmed by unanimous vote of the three- member commission which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert. Associate Justice Cody started her assignment on Monday.
At the ceremony, supporting witnesses included Associate Justice Steven Z. Perren (Ret.), Judge Brian J. Back, Ventura Superior Court (Ret.); and attorney Michael Wolf. Associate Justice Cody fills the vacancy created by the recent retirement of Justice Perren, who gave heartfelt remarks at the ceremony in support of Justice Cody’s confirmation.
Ventura Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin G. DeNoce stated: “The Ventura Superior Court thanks Justice Cody for her many years of dedicated service and extends its best wishes to her in her new assignment. The Court’s loss is conversely the Court of Appeal’s gain: of an outstanding judge who is well respected by her peers and the attorneys that have appeared before her for her intelligence, judicial demeanor and the care with which she makes her judicial decisions.”
Justice Cody was originally appointed as a Superior Court Judge to the Ventura Superior Court bench by Governor Gray Davis on December 6, 2000. Prior to her appellate justice confirmation, Justice Cody served as the Supervising Judge of the Juvenile/Probate courthouse and was assigned to Courtroom J1 where she presided over juvenile dependency matters, adoptions and guardianships. Prior Ventura Superior Court assignments included civil, family law and criminal matters.
Before becoming a Ventura Superior Court judge, Justice Cody was an associate at Lemieux & O’Neill from 1994 to 2000, and she was an associate and partner at Nordman, Cormany, Hair & Compton from 1985 to 1994. Justice Cody earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School.