James E. Rogan

James Edward Rogan (born August 21, 1957) is an American judge of the Superior Court of California, adjunct law professor, author and former Member of the United States House of Representatives from California. He also formerly served as United States Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, California State Assembly Majority Leader, a judge of the California Municipal Court, a gang murder prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and a civil litigator in private law practice. In January 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Rogan to be a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, but the Senate failed to act on the nomination before the expiration of Bush's term in office. Early life and education Rogan was expelled from high school in the tenth grade. Although he never completed high school formally, Rogan attended Chabot Community College — now Las Positas Community College — in Livermore. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, and later his Juris Doctor degree from UCLA Law School, where he was a member of the UCLA Law Review. Rogan helped pay his way through law school by working as a bartender and bouncer at several Hollywood night clubs. Early professional career Rogan did a short stint (1983–1985) as a civil litigation attorney in one of Los Angeles' oldest law firms (Lillick McHose & Charles). He resigned from his firm and signed on as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, where he later was recruited to the "Hardcore Gang Murder Unit". He prosecuted some of Los Angeles' most notorious street gangs. In a 1990 statewide poll of prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges, California Lawyer Magazine named Rogan as one of the state's most effective prosecutors. Later that year Governor George Deukmejian appointed the 33-year-old prosecutor to be a judge of the Glendale Municipal Court. Rogan was California's youngest sitting state court judge at the time of his elevation to the bench. During his service on the municipal court (1990–1994) Rogan presided over thousands of civil and criminal cases. In 1993 his colleagues elected him presiding judge of their local court.