Presiding Judge In Michael Jackson Trial Hails From San Diego

OK, I'm stretching the connection a bit thin here, but with the Michael Jackson molestation trail-of-the-century finally getting underway this week, I figured I needed to make some sort of San Diego connection, given the intense scrutiny it will garner. Lo and behold, it turns out the Santa Maria presiding judge, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, is a San Diego native and San Diego State University graduate. He himself has an interesting story, as recounted in this Union-Tribune profile.