Bruce A. Kilday

Prior to moving into civil practice, Mr. Kilday was in the District Attorney’s Office for five years trying criminal cases including felony cases of robbery, rape, arson and the first consumer fraud case to go to trial. He taught CEB courses for over 25 years (Depositions, Effective Direct & Cross-Exam) and was the POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) instructor for the Officer Involved Shootings course for Northern California for over 15 years. He has also been on the faculty of the Hastings College of Advocacy, a guest lecturer in the trial advocacy program and in civil rights classes at local law schools and several times a year is asked to speak at seminars and conferences, often in the area of police liability. Mr. Kilday was also elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in 2010. He was honored with the Jim Gilwee Award for Civility in Exemplary Professionalism in the Conduct of Civil Law by ABOTA in 2017.

In addition to Angelo, Kilday & Kilduff surviving years with Bruce as Managing Partner, he is most proud of his children, Elisabeth (who he says runs the Smithsonian) and Patrick (who has a surgical practice in Sacramento), and his wife, Sue (a retired teacher with boundless patience). He is a ridiculously proud grandfather to Maddie & Sammy who are brilliant, beautiful, and make him laugh. Mr. Kilday was relieved to finish a 4-day hike along the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu with his family in June, 2011. He has visited Patagonia & Cape Horn, ridden a bike along the Danube and Rhone rivers; floated up the Nile and seen the Pyramids; shared a trail with a wombat on a night hike in Tasmania, and kayaked in “glow-worm” caves in New Zealand. In 2026 he traveled to Antarctica and visited penguins. He plans to visit Africa and the Galapagos in the next year or two.

• Civil Rights Litigation
• Police Liability Defense
• Employment Litigation
• Public Entity Defense
• Torts

• California, 1975
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1983
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1975

• Bolling, Walter & Gawthrop, Partner, 1980 to 1997
• Sacramento County District Attorney, Deputy District Attorney, 1975 to 1980
• Sacramento Superior Court, Judges Robert Cole and Elvin Sheehy, Law Clerk, 1974 to 1975, Homicide and assault trials for the S.L.A.(Symbionese Liberation Army)

• McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, California
  • J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence – 1975
• University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California
  • B.A., Bachelor of Arts – 1972
  • Major: Economics

• Martindale-Hubbell Rating “AV” since 1996
• Named as one of California’s Super Lawyers in 2005, 2011-2026
• National Award for Program from American Inns of Court in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2012
• Traynor Honor Society and Moot Court Honors Board at McGeorge School of Law
• ABOTA – elected to membership in 2010
• ABOTA – Jim Gilwee Civility Award for Exemplary Professionalism and Conduct in the Practice of Civil Law, 2017

• “Litigation Basics” for the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, 2024
• Police liability update for NCCSIF Police Chiefs, 2024
• Moderator for ABOTA panel on “Civility Matters”, 2018-2020
• Presenter on Police Practices at NCCSIF Police Chiefs Seminar, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: How to Assess Lawsuit Allegations, Defend the Case, and Live to Tell About It” Presenter for the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, 2018
• Presenter at PARMA Annual Conference: “Officer Involved Shootings”, 2015
• Consultant with Calif. Dept. of Justice (P.O.S.T.) teaching legal portions of Officer Involved Shootings course, 1994 to 2012
• Lecturer and Moderator for Calif. Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) on Depositions and Effective Direct and Cross-Examination, 1983 to 2013
• Presenter at PARMA Annual Conference on Interpreters and Law Enforcement: “New Obligations and Liability Risks”, 2006
• Consultant with California Peace Officers Association teaching legal portions of Officer Involved Shooting course, 2005
• Speaker at California State Sheriff’s Association – Correctional Facilities Administrator Seminar on Language Issues in the Correctional Setting and Recent Developments, 2005
• Speaker at Placer County Law Enforcement Association Retreat on Civil Liabilities: Present and Future Considerations, 2005
• Speaker at U.S. Attorney Law Enforcement Summit on Enforcement of Executive Order 13166, 2004
• Panelist at Litigation Avoidance and Risk Management Symposium for California Department of Corrections, 2003
• Panelist for “Police Liability in California” seminar for Lorman Education Services, 2002, 2004, 2011, & 2012
• Lecturer for “Dealing with Informants” Course, Calif. Dept. of Justice (P.O.S.T.) 1999
• Lecturer for Sexual Harassment, for Calif. Association of Work Experience Educators, 1999
• Taught “Civil Liability, Sexual Harassment, and Employment Discrimination” to Sacramento Police Department Supervisors, 1995
• Panelist on Labor Law Workshop sponsored by the Elk Grove Unified School District, 1994
• Taught course on Civil Liability in Advanced Officer Training to Sacramento Police Department, Placerville Police Department, and West Sacramento Police Department, 1991
• Faculty of Hastings College of Advocacy, San Francisco, CA, 1988 – 1989

• To Test Breath or Blood, That Is the Question
• The Importance of Immediacy: A Discussion of the Narrow Set of Circumstances that Could Support the Warrantless Removal of a Child
• Current Case Law on the Use of Tasers

• Pitts v City of Davis (2025) Yolo Superior Court CV 2022-0119 — Admitted liability for fatal dangerous conditions
• Moreno v. City of Galt (2017) Sacramento Superior Court Case No. 34-2014-00163760 — Fatal police shooting
• Haught v. City of Anderson (E.D. Cal. 2017) 11-CV-01653 — Settlement — Sexual assault by transporting officer
• Ballard et. al v. City of West Sacramento et. al (E.D. Cal. 2016) — Settlement — State and Federal cases involving sexual battery by lone officer on multiple women
• Biscotti v. City of Yuba, et al. (E.D Cal. May 2013) 2:11-CV-01347— Summary Judgment — Fatal officer involved shooting
• Gutierrez v. County of Yolo (2012) Eastern District of California No. 2:10-cv-01142 — Trial — Fatal officer involved shooting – Defense verdict
• Moua v. Chico et al (E.D. Cal. 2004) 324 F. Supp. 2d 1132 — Summary Judgment — Allegations of failure to provide interpreter for Hmong victims, won in both State and Federal Court
• Ford v. Ramirez-Palmer et al (9th Cir. 2002) 301 F. 3d 1043 — Summary Judgment — CDCR establishing favorable standard for supervisor liability
• Davis v. City of Sacramento (3d DCA1994) 24 Cal. App. 4th 393 — Trial — Fatal officer involved shooting – Defense verdict
• Orozco v. Yolo et al (E.D. CA 1993) 814 F. Supp. 885 — Settlement
• Sullivan v. Sacramento (3d DCA 1987,) 190 Cal. App. 3d 1070 — Demurrer, Affirmed on Appeal — Defense of police dispatcher

• State Bar of California, Member
• American Bar Association – Litigation Section
• Anthony M. Kennedy American Inns of Court – Master of the Bench since 1992
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)