Hon. Dennis Choate
Sixteen years as a trial deputy with the Los Angeles District
Attorney followed by nearly twenty one years as a trial judge on the
Orange County Superior Court has earned Judge Choate the well deserved
admiration and respect of the Southern California legal community. While
a sitting judge he served on the court’s Personal Injury Panel, where he
handled all manners of tort disputes. For sixteen years Judge Choate
managed and presided over a broad spectrum of civil litigation. His
average calendar was 485 per month.
Judge Choate presided over hundreds of civil trials during his two
decades on the bench. He has served on the Court’s executive committee
for three terms. He also served three terms on the Superior Court
Appellate Department including one year as its Presiding Judge. He was
selected to be part of a pilot project which later became Direct Case
Management where judges handle all aspects of their cases: writs and
receivers, law and motion, settlement conferences, bench and jury
trails. Judge Choate is a widely regarded as an informed and skilled
neutral who has quickly earned a reputation as an outstanding settlement
negotiator.
Judge Choate is known for creating innovative solutions to complex
cases. He volunteers as a settlement judge for the Orange County
Superior Court Mediation program. Judge Choate brings well deserved
credibility and dependability to the mediator’s chair. His common sense
and friendly, respectful approach to the litigant has earned him high
marks from counsel on both sides of the table. Early and final
resolution is his goal.
Judge Choate serves as a mediator, arbitrator, referee, and private
judge. He is also available as a confidential case and issue evaluator.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
• Personal Injury, including catastrophic injury
• Business and Commercial Contract Disputes
• Employment
• Real Estate
• Medical/Legal/Professional Malpractice
• Products Liability
• Elder Abuse
EDUCATION
1968 University of California, Los Angeles, B.A.
1972 Loyola University School of Law, J.D.
2002 Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Masters’ Forum
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Judicial Experience
2008 – Present Full time mediator, ADR Services, Inc.
1989 – 2008 Orange County Superior Court Judge
1993 – 1994 Appellate Department (Presiding Judge in 1994)
1994 – 2008 Civil Litigation Panel
1992 – 1994 Personal Injury Panel
1989 – 1992 Criminal and Open Trial Court
1987 – 1989 Orange County Municipal Court, West Orange County District
Legal & Trial Experience
1972 – 1987 Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County
Chief assignments: Major Crimes Section, Organized Crime and Narcotics
Division, Hardcore Gang Division (108 felony jury trials)
1970 – 1972 Senior Clerk, Office of the District Attorney, Los Angeles
County
MEMBERSHIPS
• State Bar of California
• Orange County Bar Association
• Orange County Bar Foundation Society of Fellows (Founding
Fellow)
• Orange County Trial Lawyers Association
• Orange County Hispanic Bar Association
• Life Member Navy League
• California Judge’s Association
• International Academy of Trial Judges
• Pepperdine Masters Mediation Program
• California Judges Association
• Civil Law and Procedure Committee
• Grand Jury Selection Committee
• Bench/Bar/Media Committee
• Life Member UCLA Alumni Association
• Friends of the Marlin (Founding Member, Commodore)
• International Game Fish Association, Certified Observer
(Catch and Release)
TEACHING, LECTURES AND PANELS
Presenter, lecturer, and seminar speaker on topics of civil trial
practice, jury selection and mediation. He also has given many
presentations on search and seizure law, evidence, major narcotics,
organized crime, and prison gangs.
PERSONAL
Judge Dennis S. Choate is the son of the distinguished late Los Angeles
Superior Court judge, Raymond Choate (1919 - 2005).
As a high school student at Mira Costa High School, Judge Choate was a
CIF champion middleweight wrestler. He was also undefeated in his
division in Australia and Japan. While in high school he was a foreign
exchange student with the American Field Service (AFS) and spent one
year in South Australia. Judge Choate later attended UCLA on a wrestling
scholarship. He is a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and was active
in the Blue Key Honor Society while in college. In his leisure time,
Judge Choate enjoys sport fishing and high school and college sports. He
is a supporter of catch and release fishing, and is a Certified Observer
for the International Game Fishing Association (IGFA). He is a
co-founder of Friends of the Marlin, a fishing and charitable
organization now in its 29th year.
Judge Choate is a UCLA alumni (UCLA’68), along with his wife of 39 years
(UCLA’68), and his two sons (UCLA 2000 and 2003). His mother, father and
a sister also graduated from UCLA.
This page was last modified in April 2010
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