The Hon. J. David Markham is a judge for the Lake County Superior Court in California. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2017. He filled the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Richard C. Martin (Ret.).
He is registered without party preference.
Judge Markham graduated with his B.A. in economics from the University of California, Davis in 1993. He went on to earn his J.D. from the Empire College School of Law in 2000.
Markham began his legal career as a Lake County deputy district attorney in 2001.
In 2003, he left the public sector to enter into private practice. He first worked briefly as an associate at the law firm Alvord and Ewing before going into solo practice in 2004. During his time in private practice, Markham was certified by the State Bar of California's Board of Legal Specializations as a criminal law specialist in 2009. Markham also provided legal defense for the indigent community in Lake County. He remained in private practice until his appointment to the bench in 2017.
He also served as an adjunct professor at Woodland Community College, where he taught on the subjects of criminal law, criminal procedure, and juvenile law.
His memberships have included the Criminal Law Section of the State Bar of California and the Lake County Bar Associaton.