The Hon. Suzanne N. Kingsbury is a judge for the Superior Court of El Dorado County in California. She was elected to the bench on November 5, 1996.
Kingsbury earned a B.A. in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento in 1981. She then completed a J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982.
She began her legal career as an attorney in private practice in 1982.
Three years later, she joined the Office of the District Attorney of El Dorado County as a deputy district attorney. She served there for five years, where she established the South Lake/El Dorado County Narcotics Task Force as well as a vertical prosecution program for sexual assault and child abuse cases. Then, in 1990, she transferred to the Office of the Public Defender of El Dorado County. During her tenure there, she represented juvenile and adult offenders as a deputy public defender. She held that position until her election to the bench.
Kingsbury has taught as an adjunct instructor in the criminal justice program at Lake Tahoe Community College.
She has served as president of the Board of Directors for the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center. Her other memberships have included the Sierra Recovery Center, the Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, and Hospice of the Lake.
Kingsbury was the first woman to serve as a judge for the Superior Court of El Dorado County. She was also the first judge from the Superior Court of El Dorado County to serve on the Judicial Council of California.
Her husband is a retired law enforcement officer.