Secretary Matthew Cate

Matthew Cate was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 16, 2008, as Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Cate was appointed as Inspector General by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in March 2004 and subsequently confirmed by the state senate to that position.  As Inspector General, Mr. Cate was responsible for public oversight of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.  Since 2007, he also served as the chair of the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board and in that capacity was responsible for reporting to the state legislature on the progress made by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in fulfilling its obligation to provide effective rehabilitative programs to California’s inmates and parolees.

Prior to becoming California’s Inspector General, Mr. Cate served as a state and local prosecutor.  From 1996 to 2004, he served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice.  In that capacity, he supervised a team of trial and appellate prosecutors, managed a criminal trial caseload of political corruption matters and provided counsel to county grand juries.  In 2003, while working on federal fraud and corruption matters, Mr. Cate was cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.  From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Cate was a Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County, last serving in a special assignment prosecuting juvenile rape and murder cases. Prior to joining the public sector, Mr. Cate worked as a business litigation attorney with Downey, Brand, Seymour & Rohwer. He has also held several positions as an instructor of legal and law enforcement-related topics, including standards training for peace officers.

Mr. Cate earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Oregon School of Law and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Linfield College, where he was a National Scholar Athlete.  He is a member of the California State Bar.