Countywide : Schenk Appointed to Superior Court Seat

Municipal Judge Floyd H. Schenk, who pioneered a program to reform young drunk drivers, was appointed Wednesday to the Superior Court bench in Orange County.

Gov. George Deukmejian, who appointed Schenk to Municipal Court in Westminster in 1985, announced Schenk’s promotion.

“I feel terrific,� Schenk said. “I appreciate the governor’s confidence in me.�

Schenk, 66, of Newport Beach, replaces Judge James R. Franks, who died in September.

Two years ago, Schenk was one of the first judges to begin a program in which young drunk drivers are ordered to view the dead at the morgue and the injured at hospital trauma centers, then write essays about the experience.

Schenk said 159 first-time offenders ages 18 to 21 have gone through the program; just one has been stopped for driving under the influence again.

Schenk designed his own program and began it in July, 1987, weeks before Deukmejian signed a similar statewide program into law.

Schenk maintained private practices in Newport Beach and Palm Springs in 1964-85 and in Los Angeles in 1951-64, working in general civil litigation.

Schenk is married and has five children.

Superior Court judges receive $89,851 a year. Municipal Court judges receive $82,054 annually.