Judicial relief

A second Butte County Superior Court judge has announced his pending retirement this year. On Feb. 10 Judge Gerald Hermansen said he would step down from the bench effective March 31. Hermansen joins fellow Superior Court Judge Steven Howell, who announced in January that he would retire at the end of this month.

Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Hermansen to the Municipal Court in 1996. One year later, Wilson promoted Hermansen to a newly created position on the Superior Court.

Hermansen began his legal career as a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County in 1971. Two years later he and his wife, Ruth, moved to Oroville, where he served as a deputy district attorney for Butte County until 1977.