Chuck Poochigian

Charles Suren "Chuck" "Pooch" Poochigian (born May 19, 1949) is an American jurist serving as Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. A member of the Republican Party, he is also a former California State Senator.

He campaigned unsuccessfully in 2006 for California Attorney General, losing to former Governor Jerry Brown in the November general election.

Personal Poochigian is a third generation Armenian-American resident of the San Joaquin Valley. His family has farmed there since 1912.

He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from California State University, Fresno, in 1972 and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1975.

He and his wife, Debbie, married since 1977, have three grown children. However, Poochigian earned a zero rating from Equality California (EQCA) for his opposition to LGBT legislation. EQCA noted that Poochigian opposed every major LGBT bill, including: AB 1001 (prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation); AB 537 (protected LGBT children from harassment and violence in public schools); and AB 25 (established the most basic rights for same-sex domestic partners). and others for its use of emerging technology, such as MySpace, YouTube, and other online mediums, to reach out to voters and mobilize activists. One notable attack ad released by the Brown campaign voiced over by Peter Coyote stated that Poochigian had a 0% rating on the environment. The ad also made the claim that Poochigian flatly rejects "Sound Science" which caused confusion about what exactly "Sound Science" means. The National Journal'''s "Hotline" named the campaign one of the country's top 15 down-ballot races to watch.

A post-election Los Angeles Times'' article stated: "he famously collegial Poochigian, 57, proved reliably feisty, hitting Brown hard for Oakland's skyrocketing murder rate and a past littered with Moonbeam moments during his long-ago stint in Sacramento and lefty pronouncements while he was a talk radio host in the 1990s."

Appellate Court Justice (2009) On August 20, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Poochigian to become a justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. On September 24, 2009, Poochigian was unanimously confirmed to the court by California's Commission on Judicial Appointments, consisting in this case of Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Fifth District Presiding Justice James A. Ardaiz, and Attorney General Brown. At the confirmation hearing, Chief Justice George "ripped into the commission that rated [Poochigian] "not qualified" for the post," noting that there was a "real problem in the process" used by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, and strongly urging that there be "some revisions in the procedure."

Among other groups, Poochigian's appointment was strongly opposed by the National Organization for Women and Equality California In a circulated letter opposing Mr. Poochigian's appointment, California National Organization for Women President Patricia Bellasalma wrote,"Mr. Poochigian’s long political history of being vehemently opposed to the rights of women, the LGBT community, workers and people of color in addition to having no credible legal experience qualifying him for the bench, as determined by the California State Bar, amplifies this travesty.”