[1] He was in private practice in San Jose from 1960 to 1979, and was then a judge on Santa Clara County Superior Court from 1979 to 1980.

Aguilar was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 1980, and received his commission the same day.

Specifically, it was alleged that Aguilar, at the request of Abe Chapman (a convicted narcotics trafficker), tried to influence another judge, Judge Stanley A. Weigel, on behalf of Michael Rudy Tham, a former Teamsters official who was appealing an embezzlement case against him.

[5] and sentenced to six months in prison, 1,000 hours of community service and fined $2,000 on conviction of unlawfully disclosing a Government wiretap and obstructing justice by lying to Federal agents about it.

[6] For this reason, he was able to assume senior status on April 15, 1996, but chose to retire two months later on June 24, 1996.