Justice Cynthia Aaron was appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in January, 2003 and was retained by the voters in her last election. She was rated "exceptionally well qualified" for appointment to the Court of Appeal by the California State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeal, Justice Aaron served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court of the Southern District of California, in San Diego.
Justice Aaron was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She left Minnesota to attend college at Stanford University where she graduated with a BA in Psychologyin 1979, with distinction and departmental honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After working in the Bay Area for two years, she was admitted to Harvard Law School where she received her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, in 1984.
Justice Aaron began her legal career as a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. and later formed a law firm with one of her colleagues, where she handled criminal and civil cases in both state and federal court. Justice Aaron left her law firm in 1994 when she was appointed to the position of Unites States Magistrate Judge. She served in that position until her appointment to the California Court of Appeal.
Justice Aaron has served on the State-Federal Judicial Council and on the Appellate Advisory Committee, by appointment of the Chief Justice of California.
Justice Aaron is a recipient of the AJC Judge Learned Hand Award, in recognition of her leadership and commitment to equity, justice and excellence in the application of the law.
Justice Aaron has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both the University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law, and has taught at numerous other legal events. She is a former president of the San Diego County Judges Association and was a member of the Board of Directors of that organization for several years. She has also served as a board member of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, an organization dedicated to providing equal access to the justice system.
Justice Aaron is married. She and her husband have three grown children.
