Judge Renard F. Shepard

CLEO 1972

“CLEO gave me the inspiration and encouragement that I needed to successfully complete law school. After the six week summer program, I headed off to law school with a determination that I was capable and I would succeed. Looking back forty two years later, I realize CLEO eliminated any doubts I had and instilled in me that I could be somebody. I sincerely thank them for that.”

Judge Renard F. Shepard was appointed to the Sacramento Municipal Court in 1988 by Governor George Deukmejian and was later elevated to the Superior Court in 1998. Prior to becoming a judge, he worked as a Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles, a Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Sacramento, Staff Counsel for the California State Department of Consumer Affairs, and as a Deputy District Attorney for Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties. Judge Shepard was a founding member of the Wiley Manual Bar Association in Sacramento and past president.

Judge Shepard received his B.A. in criminology from the University of California, Berkeley and his JD from the Hastings College of the Law. He was admitted to the California bar in December, 1976.

Judge Shepard officially retired from the bench in 2008 but sits on assignment three to four months a year in Sacramento Superior Court. He spends his winters in Mexico where he enjoys playing golf and improving his Spanish, while immersing himself in the culture. He is married to fellow CLEO Alumnus and retired Administrative Law Judge, Lilian Shek, and they have two sons: Langston and Vance.