California’s governor has appointed a commissioner at the Ventura County Superior Court to take over the position of a Ventura County Superior Court judge, who died in 2025.
Brian Sottile is a former Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office prosecutor, who has been with the Ventura County Superior Court since last year as commissioner, according to a California Governor’s Press Office release.
Sottile served in different roles at the city of Los Angeles’s attorney’s office from 1998 until 2025, according to a Ventura County Superior Court news release. He was in roles including division head deputy for the prosecution unit, supervising attorney for Van Nuys, public safety general counsel and prosecutor for the Chatsworth, San Fernando and Van Nuys area.
He also worked as an attorney for the law offices of Sullivan, Sottile & Taketa, LLP in Westlake Village between 2002 through 2003, the releases say.
Sottile holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Riverside and a law degree from San Joaquin College of Law in Clovis, the court news release says.
Sottile is registered without party preference, the governor’s press office release says.
He fills the position of Judge Ryan J. Wright, who died in 2025, according to news releases.
Wright was 53 and died of heart failure in September at Keck Hospital of USC after a long illness that landed him on a heart transplant list.Wright served as a judge since 2011 and worked earlier as a narcotics prosecutor with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Wright was known as a hard working prosecutor and then a judge, overseeing the “heaviest, biggest” cases in the courthouse, said Matthew Guasco, presiding judge of the Ventura County Superior Court.
Sottile was serving as a commissioner in the family law department at the Hall of Justice in Ventura before appointment as judge since May, the court release says. He was sworn into office on March 30 by Guasco.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Newsom appoints ex-LA prosecutor to Ventura County Superior Court
Reporting by Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
