You pay for good judgment with hard work and a lifetime of service to the community. For more than 40 years, Judge Tom Adams has worked tirelessly to serve Santa Barbara County with integrity, independence and unwavering commitment to fairness and the rule of law.

As a young man, Tom Adams was a musician/singer in a popular musical group, The Wayfarers.  As he toured the country, the group was exposed to racism and prejudice in the south and it changed him immensely.  He moved on to law school and later, as a young attorney, he was appointed to be the first Commissioner of the Santa Barbara Municipal Court Bench. He committed to treat everyone who appeared before him with dignity and respect.

In 1982 he was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Governor Jerry Brown. During his judicial career Judge Adams has presided over tens of thousands of criminal, civil, family and juvenile court cases – from homicide trials to his current assignment hearing criminal arraignments, presiding over hundreds of criminal court matters each week.  Arraignment court is a criminal defendant’s first appearance in court, and Judge Adams takes the time to carefully explain their legal rights to them while also keeping the busy court calendar moving forward.  

During his service to our community Judge Adams has served as Presiding Judge of the Superior Court on three occasions as well as serving terms as Presiding Judge over both the Family Law Court and Juvenile Court divisions.  

Judge Adams has successfully helped shape programs that continue to strengthen our community, including starting California’s first Teen Court program which has become a national model for such youth courts. He also created the innovative “Children in the Middle” program for families going through divorce transitions. He was also instrumental in establishing the Santa Barbara CASA program which advocates for abused and neglected children in foster care and elsewhere.