New Presiding Judge and Assistant Presiding Judge, 2022-2023

Michael D. Coughlan – Presiding Judge and Gus C. Barrera, II – Assistant Presiding Judge

For 2022 and 2023

Stockton, CA — Judge Michael D. Coughlan is the new Presiding Judge, and Gus C. Barrera, II is the new Assistant Presiding Judge. Their terms commenced January 1, 2022, and run through December 31, 2023.

Judge Coughlan served as Assistant Presiding Judge from 2020 to 2021 and replaces outgoing Presiding Judge Xapuri B. Villapudua. Judge Coughlan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Pacific and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He began his legal career in private practice, including serving as a managing lead attorney with the California State Automobile Association. He later entered civil litigation as a solo practitioner, specializing in insurance coverage, personal injury, commercial litigation, mediation, and arbitration. Judge Coughlan was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.

Judge Barrera earned his Juris Doctor degree from Brigham Young University Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a partner and attorney at the Law Offices of Allan Jose and Gus Barrera II from 2005 to 2010. Judge Barrera served as a Deputy District Attorney at the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 2005 and was an associate at David Allen and Associates from 1997 to 1998. He had been a sole practitioner since 2011 when he was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2016. In addition to serving as Assistant Presiding Judge, Judge Barrera will continue to serve as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court.

The Presiding Judge, with the assistance of the Court Executive Officer, is responsible for leading the Court, establishing policies, and allocating resources in a manner that promotes equal access to justice, maximizes the use of judicial and other resources, increases efficiency in court operations, and enhances service to the public. The Assistant Presiding Judge acts in the absence of the Presiding Judge and will assume the role of Presiding Judge when the two-year term as Assistant Presiding Judge expires.

New Presiding Judge and Assistant Presiding Judge, 2022–2023 (PDF)