Rodric Anthony Pacheco (born May 7, 1958), more commonly known as Rod Pacheco, is an American politician, formerly a

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 2007 to 2011 in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

. He served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from 1996 to 2002, and as Republican leader from 1998 to 1999. Pacheco was defeated on June 8, 2010, in his bid for a second term as Riverside County District Attorney.

Education

In 1976 Pacheco graduated from Aquinas High School in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Political Science and Sociology from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

in 1980. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of San Diego School of Law The University of San Diego School of Law (USD Law) is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It ...

in 1983.

Career

Prosecution career

Pacheco began working for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office in 1984.

Assembly career

Pacheco ran for the California State Assembly in 1996. With his victory, he became the first Latino Republican elected in more than a century, and was elected Leader of the Republican caucus, the first time in the state's history that a Latino served in that capacity.

Return to District Attorney's Office

In 2002, Pacheco concluded his legislative service and returned to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office as a Chief Deputy District Attorney. In 2003, he was promoted to Assistant District Attorney for the Western Division. In 2006, Pacheco was elected the Riverside County District Attorney without any opposition. He was sworn in as District Attorney on the steps of Riverside County's Historic Courthouse by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George.

Private law practice

Pacheco was defeated on June 8, 2010, in his bid for reelection as District Attorney by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Paul Zellerbach. After the election, Pacheco said in a statement to the ''Press Enterprise'', "It has been my honor to serve the citizens of Riverside County in a variety of capacities for many years. I look forward to my entrance into private life."

References

California: A Prosecutor Is Threatened

External links

Join California Rod Pacheco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Rod 1958 births Living people District attorneys in California Government of Riverside County, California Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Los Angeles University of California, Riverside alumni University of San Diego School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the California State Legislature 20th-century members of the California State Legislature