Full Biography for Gregory H. Ward

Judge Ward has been a Judge of the Superior Court since his appointment by Governor Deukmejian in 1990. He was elected to this position in 1992 and has presided over hundreds of criminal, civil and juvenile delinquency trials.

Judge Ward grew up in San Jose and attended local public schools and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1972.

With the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Department of Justice he prosecuted major criminal cases in Chicago and Puerto Rico. Later, as attorney-in-charge of the San Jose branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office, he was honored in Washington D.C. for continued superior performance as a prosecutor.

In 1983 Judge Ward went into private practice in Palo Alto with a small law firm specializing in high-tech legal matters. As a trial attorney he appeared in state and federal courts throughout the Bay Area and tried cases to juries in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties and Chatham County, Georgia. He successfully briefed and argued appeals in the Court of Appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Since being named to the Superior Court Judge Ward has presided over more than 130 felony jury trials. He has a proven record as a fair-minded, hard-working and independent judge who respects the rights of victims and defendants and the needs of our community.

Judge Ward lives in San Jose with his wife, Jo Anne Larson, and their three year old son, Nathan.