Calabasas Attorney Among Superior Court Appointees

Eight people, including the deputy district attorney who led the prosecution of the late singer Michael Jackson's personal physician, were appointed by the governor Friday as Los Angeles Superior Court judges.

All of Gov. Jerry Brown's appointees are Democrats.

Among the appointees is 43-year-old Deputy District Attorney David Walgren, who was on the team that prosecuted Dr. Conrad Murray for administering what turned out to be a fatal cocktail of drugs -- most notably the powerful anesthetic propofol -- to Jackson in 2009.

Walgren, a Calabasas resident, has been with the District Attorney's Office since 1996.

The other appointees are:

-- Debra A. Cole, 50, of Long Beach, who has been with the Los Angeles County Alternative Public Defender's Office since 1994.

-- Halim Dhanidina, 39, of Los Angeles, who has been a deputy district attorney since 1998.

-- Peter A. Hernandez, 42, of Alhambra, who has served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California since 1999.

-- Bruce G. Iwasaki, 61, of Los Angeles, a former executive director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

-- H. Clay Jacke II, 53, of Los Angeles, who has run a legal defense practice since 1983.

-- Virginia Keeny, 50, of Los Angeles, a private attorney and former trial lawyer for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

-- Jeffrey K. Winikow, 47, of Los Angeles, who has been a sole practitioner since 1992.

As Superior Court judges, each will earn an annual salary of $178,789.