Hon. Francis M. Devaney

The Honorable Francis M. Devaney was appointed to the San Diego Superior Court in January of 2005 by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has served the court in various capacities since his appointment, including assignments in the Civil, Criminal and Juvenile Delinquency divisions. Judge Devaney is presently assigned to the Downtown Criminal Courthouse, where he sits in a trial department, hearing motions, preliminary examinations, and jury trials. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Devaney spent 21 years in the San Diego City Attorney’s office, first as a criminal prosecutor and then, for the majority of his career, as a civil litigator, defending the City and its departments and employees in both state and federal court in cases involving false arrest and excessive force, dangerous conditions of public property, and municipal projects and developments. Judge Devaney is married to his wife Leslie, who is also an attorney and the managing partner of a downtown law firm; they have two adult daughters.