Santa Barbara County Superior Court : Judge Rodney S. Melville

Appointed to the Municipal Court Bench by Governor George Deukmejian in 1987, Judge Melville served in that capacity for 3 years. Elevated by Governor Deukmejian in 1990 he served on the Superior Court for 17 years. Judge Melville retired as Judge for the Superior Court in 2007. During his 20 years on the bench Judge Melville experienced every type of litigation and completed three terms of service as the Court’s Presiding Judge.

As a Superior Court Judge he had extensive experience in Criminal, Civil, Family Law and Probate matters. He was instrumental in establishing the Court’s first Substance Abuse Treatment Court. As a private attorney in the firm of Melville & Iwasko he distinguished himself as a competent and capable trial lawyer with his work in Criminal and Civil matters. During this time he became a State Certified Specialist in Family Law. Prior to moving to Santa Maria in 1971 he served as a deputy district attorney in the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office for 2 years.

During his career several professional associations have recognized Judge Melville’s leadership:

He served on the California Judges Association, Executive Board from 1997 to 2000.
In 2001 he received a distinguished award as the, “The Chief Probation Officers of California’s, Judicial Officer of the Year for 2001.”
In 2003 he was honored for his work in developing a mental health treatment court with, “The California Coalition for Mental Health, Outstanding Mental Health Advocate Award.”
In 2005 he received the John Rickard Judicial Services Award by the Santa Barbara County Bar Association for outstanding and exemplary service to the Santa Barbara County judiciary.

San Diego State University, San Diego, California 1965
Hastings College of the Law, University of California, 1968