JUDGE STEVEN HINTZ
Treasurer-Tax Collector

Judge Steven Hintz began the fifth chapter of his long public service career in January 2011 when he took over as Ventura County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector. Hintz served as a lieutenant in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1972 to 1975. He worked as a deputy district attorney in Ventura County from 1975 to 1982. He became a Municipal Court judge in Ventura in 1982 and a Superior Court judge in 1998, retiring in 2007 to participate in California’s Assigned Retired Judge Program. From 1985 to 2004 Hintz taught Constitutional Law-related courses at the Ventura College of Law.

Judge Hintz graduated from San Diego State College in 1968, earning a B.S. in Business Management, and a minor in Political Science. He graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971. He passed the California bar in 1971 and entered military service that year. During his assignments to Marine Corps Base Quantico and the Washington Navy Yard he prosecuted and defended several high-profile military cases, including two homicides. He started with the district attorney’s office in Ventura County in 1975. He held two management positions, prosecuted over 30 jury trials, and developed specialties in arson and search warrants. In 1980 he was the editor and author of the first edition of Arson Investigation and Prosecution, a two-volume book published nationally by the California District Attorneys Association. During his tenure on the Ventura County Municipal Court, he served as the Presiding Judge and the Assistant Presiding Judge, and was named Judge of the Year twice. He was re-elected to the bench four times without opposition. During his teaching career at Ventura College of Law, he was named Teacher of the Year three times.

Judge Hintz has continuously served the community outside his official duties. Since 1975 he has led such diverse organizations as the Cops and Kids Club of Ventura, the Ventura County Deputy District Attorneys Association, the Public Employees Association of Ventura County, the Peace Officers Association of Ventura County, the Easter Seal Society of Ventura County, the Ventura County Law Library, the Ventura County Boy Scouts of America, the Inns of Court, the Gold Coast Chapter of the Federalist Society, the Ventura County Christian School, and the California State Railroad Museum Foundation. He has coached 40 different youth sports teams.