Ken began his legal career as a law clerk to a Federal District Court Judge in Wyoming, where he was involved in one of the most important environmental cases in decades. The State of Wyoming was challenging the Federal Government's reintroduction and management of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding states.

The case dealt with highly complex administrative and constitutional legal questions, with both sides prepared to appeal any decision that came down. After wading through thousands of documents and hundreds of pages of legal briefs with the Judge, the decision maintained the important Federal protections of this critically endangered species. The Tenth Circuit later affirmed the Judge's decision.

Lessons learned in that case and throughout his career have stuck with Ken: listen carefully, respect the law, understand that judicial decisions have significant impact outside the courtroom and, by extension, that the systems used to deliver justice can impact people as much as the decisions rendered.

After years in private practice, Ken returned to public service as a Supervising Research Attorney in the Sonoma County Superior Court. Later Ken became the court's Managing Attorney and was highly involved in the revamping of the Pretrial Release Program in Sonoma County. He also oversees expanding the scope of legal services to the court and instituting a protocol for more detailed and thorough tentative rulings in civil law and motion matters.

Today, Ken is a recognized subject matter expert in the area of Pretrial release and Pre-Arraignment release. Ken is often asked by the State of California to speak on these topics throughout the state. Ken believes strongly in the idea of having a robust and efficient system to supervise defendants while they are in our community.

Working closely with justice partners to balance public safety with the personal liberty interests of those who become involved in the criminal justice system, the Pretrial Release Program helmed by Ken, and crafted by the court and justice partners, allows individuals who are arrested to quickly return to their lives with appropriate levels of supervision to ensure public safety -- regardless of their ability to pay.

Born in Germany while his father was in the Air Force, Ken was later raised in California. After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Ken pursued a chef career across the country, but his heart never left California.

After working in kitchens for years, Ken felt drawn to complete his formal education and eventually attended law school at The George Washington University. Ken and his wife, Ramona, originally from Romania, raised their family here in Sonoma County.

In his spare time, Ken enjoys our local parks and open spaces, and in recent years he has become a University of California certified Naturalist and Climate Steward.

Reflecting on his family history, Ken places a high value on tolerance and understanding in his courtroom, and our society as a whole. Ken’s grandfather suffered from antisemitism. His experiences were so extreme that he decided to change his name from Finberg, an identifiably Jewish name, to “English” in an effort to get around the bigotry and hate that was aimed at him and his family. Ken says that every time he hears his last name, he is reminded of the dangers of hatred, something he is committed to overcoming in our society.