Fresno County (Fresno)
Career Highlights: Appointed to Fresno County Superior Court by Gov. Gray Davis, 2001, retired 2021; partner, Ophelia & Whitehead, 2000-2001; Fresno County Superior Court commissioner, 1992-2000; staff attorney, 5th District Court of Appeal, 1988-1992; associate, Lang, Richert & Patch, 1987-1988; research attorney, state Supreme Court, 1986-1987; judicial extern, state Supreme Court, 1985
Law School: University of San Francisco School of Law, 1986
Career Highlights: Appointed to Fresno County Superior Court by Gov. Gray Davis, 2001, retired 2021; partner, Ophelia & Whitehead, 2000-2001; Fresno County Superior Court commissioner, 1992-2000; staff attorney, 5th District Court of Appeal, 1988-1992; associate, Lang, Richert & Patch, 1987-1988; research attorney, state Supreme Court, 1986-1987; judicial extern, state Supreme Court, 1985
Law School: University of San Francisco School of Law, 1986
FRESNO — Denise L. Whitehead has handled just about every type of trial one can imagine as a superior court judge but now she has returned to her favorite post, at the juvenile delinquency mental health court that she helped set up in 2005.
Whitehead had an unusual amount of preparation for her judicial career, due to a variety of research jobs in the court system. But she didn’t have her eye on the bench at the time.
