Adjunct Professor of Law
Justice Richard Huffman was appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal for the State of California in October, 1988, following his tenure as a judge of the Superior Court for San Diego County since April 1985. Prior to his bench appointments, Huffman served with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, where he was chief deputy district attorney for over 10 years and assistant district attorney for the remainder. In those positions, he supervised a staff of 450 and tried a number of complex and sensitive cases. His trial skills and contributions to the administration of justice brought him four singular honors: "Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year" by the California District Attorneys Association, "Outstanding Public Lawyer" by the San Diego County Bar Association, "Prosecutor of the Year" by Citizens for Law and Order, and membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He also received the San Diego Trial Lawyers Association's 1988 "Trial Judge of the Year Award."
Huffman was admitted to the State Bar of California in January of 1966 following graduation from the University of Southern California with a J.D. degree, and began working at the State Attorney General's Office. For three of his five years there, Huffman headed the Attorney General's Special Prosecutions and Organized Crime Unit for Southern California while serving in a cross-designated capacity as Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern and Central Districts. He was also a member of the Federal Strike Force on Organized Crime in Los Angeles.
An adjunct faculty member of the University of San Diego School of Law since 1972, Huffman won the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award in 1991 and has served as a faculty member and director of the University's international programs in Guadalajara, Mexico; Oxford, England; and Dublin, Ireland. He is also a member of the law school's Board of Visitors. He regularly lectures at programs for judges and attorneys, is a judicial fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers, an honorary diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a founding director of the San Diego Inn of Court, a master of the American Inns of Court and a former vice president of the San Diego Bar Association. Huffman has been a member of the California Judicial Council since 1997 and serves as chair of its Executive and Planning Committee. Additionally, Huffman served two terms on the State Bar of California's commission evaluating judicial nominees.
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