James A. Ardaiz

A retired Administrative Presiding Justice for the Fifth District Court of Appeal, James A. Ardaiz graduated from Fresno State with a B.A. in English in 1970 and received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1974.

After six years in the District Attorney’s office, becoming Chief Deputy District Attorney for homicide, Ardaiz was elected as County of Fresno Municipal Court Judge. At age 35, California Governor George Deukmejian appointed him to the Superior Court as a criminal judge and four years later to the Fifth District Court of Appeals—one of the youngest appellate judges in California history. Governor Pete Wilson later designated him as Administrative Presiding Justice.

In a career filled with service, accomplishments and awards, Ardaiz is best known for being the principal author of the California Three Strikes Law and formulator of the Adult Offender Program. He has also authored several books, including Hands Through Stone, Fractured Justice, Shades of Truth and Trading Innocence. In 2022, his novel Tears of Honor received a silver medal for Historical Novel of the Year from the National Association of Independent Publishers.

After retiring from the court in 2011, Ardaiz has reentered the courtroom as a trial lawyer, securing multimillion-dollar verdicts in several high-profile cases, including an $89.8-million on behalf of Westlake Farms versus the Los Angeles Sanitation District. 

Ardaiz retired from his law practice in 2021 and spends his time between Fresno and Monterey with his wife and Fresno State alumna Pamella Baxter.