Judges appointed by Gavin Newsom

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This page lists judges appointed by Gavin Newsom (D) during his term as Governor of California. As of today, the total number of Newsom appointees was 408. For the full profile of Newsom, click here.

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some California judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Newsom.

Appointment process

In California, vacancies are filled via gubernatorial appointment. Nominees to the supreme court and courts of appeal must be confirmed by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments. Appointed appellate judges stand for retention in the gubernatorial election following appointment; judges of the superior courts run for the seat in the next general election.

Appointed judges

The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.

State Courts

Supreme Court

Name	Court	Active
Kelli M. Evans	California Supreme Court	January 2, 2023 - Present
Martin J. Jenkins	California Supreme Court	December 4, 2020 - Present
Patricia Guerrero	California Supreme Court	March 28, 2022 - January 2, 2023
Patricia Guerrero	California Supreme Court Chief Justice	January 2, 2023 - Present

Court of Appeals

Name	Court	Active
Charles A. Smiley III	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 1	February 14, 2025 - Present
Monique Langhorne Wilson	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 1	January 30, 2024 - Present
Tara M. Desautels	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 2	May 14, 2024 - Present
Teri L. Jackson	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 3	January 21, 2020 - 2021
Victor Rodriguez	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 3	October 13, 2021 - Present
Alison M. Tucher	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 3	August 30, 2021 - Present
Jeremy Goldman	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 4	August 10, 2022 - Present
Teri L. Jackson	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 5	August 30, 2021 - Present
Danny Y. Chou	California 1st District Court of Appeal Division 5	2023 - Present
Michelle Kim	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 1	November 25, 2024 - Present
Gregory Weingart	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 1	November 30, 2022 - Present
Anne K. Richardson	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 2	November 25, 2024 - Present
Rashida A. Adams	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 3	April 17, 2023 - Present
Mark Hanasono	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 3	July 2, 2025 - Present
Armen Tamzarian	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 4	July 2, 2025 - Present
Audra Mori	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 4	April 17, 2023 - Present
Helen Zukin	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 4	July 17, 2023 - July 2, 2025
Brian M. Hoffstadt	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 5	November 25, 2024 - Present
Hernaldo Baltodano	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 6	August 3, 2022 - Present
Tari Cody	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 6	April 17, 2023 - Present
Gonzalo Martinez	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 7	July 10, 2023 - Present
Natalie Stone	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 7	May 14, 2024 - Present
Victor Viramontes	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 8	November 30, 2022 - Present
Matthew Scherb	California 2nd District Court of Appeal Division 8	November 17, 2025 - Present
Aimee Feinberg	California 3rd District Court of Appeal	January 30, 2024 - Present
Shama Mesiwala	California 3rd District Court of Appeal	March 20, 2023 - Present
Stacy Boulware Eurie	California 3rd District Court of Appeal	August 4, 2022 - Present
Laurie M. Earl	California 3rd District Court of Appeal	January 6, 2022 - Present
Martin Buchanan	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 1	May 27, 2022 - Present
Truc Do	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 1	January 14, 2021 - Present
Jose Scher Castillo	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 1	April 7, 2023 - Present
Julia Craig Kelety	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 1	April 7, 2023 - Present
Corey Lee	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 2	November 17, 2025 - Present
David M. Rubin	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 3	June 23, 2023 - Present
Maurice Sanchez	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 3	January 6, 2022 - Present
Joanne Motoike	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 3	June 16, 2022 - Present
Nathan Scott	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 3	February 14, 2025 - Present
Thomas A. Delaney	California 4th District Court of Appeal Division 3	October 11, 2022 - Present
Arlan L. Harrell	California 5th District Court of Appeal	November 17, 2025 - Present
Daniel H. Bromberg	California 6th District Court of Appeal	January 13, 2023 - Present
Cynthia C. Lie	California 6th District Court of Appeal	August 30, 2021 - Present
Charles E. Wilson II	California 6th District Court of Appeal	August 30, 2021 - Present

Local Courts

Name	Court	Active
Sarah Sandford-Smith	Superior Court of Alameda County	2023 - Present
Armando Pastran Jr.	Superior Court of Alameda County
Kelli M. Evans	Superior Court of Alameda County	2021 - January 2, 2023
Stephanie K. Sato	Superior Court of Alameda County	2021 - Present
Elisa Della-Piana	Superior Court of Alameda County	2023 - Present
Jessica Hawk	Superior Court of Alameda County
Thomas Eagle Weathers	Superior Court of Alameda County
Maria Morga	Superior Court of Alameda County	2023 - Present
Ruben Sundeen	Superior Court of Alameda County
Veronica Rios Reddick	Superior Court of Alameda County
Peter Borkon	Superior Court of Alameda County	February 24, 2022 - Present
Joscelyn Jones	Superior Court of Alameda County	2020 - Present
Rebekah Evenson	Superior Court of Alameda County	2020 - Present
Bentrish Satarzadeh	Superior Court of Alameda County	2024 - Present
Toni Mims-Cochran	Superior Court of Alameda County	2022 - Present
David Pereda	Superior Court of Alameda County	2020 - Present
Brian Caruth	Superior Court of Alameda County	2024 - Present
Keith Kern Fong	Superior Court of Alameda County	2021 - Present
Sharon L. Djemal	Superior Court of Alameda County	2021 - Present
Elizabeth Riles	Superior Court of Alameda County	2024 - Present
Virginia Gingery	Superior Court of Butte County
Corie Caraway	Superior Court of Butte County	2020 - January 2, 2023
Colleen Gleason	Superior Court of Contra Costa County	March 25, 2022 - Present
Peter Chang	Superior Court of Contra Costa County	2023 - Present
Palvir Kaur Shoker	Superior Court of Contra Costa County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Leanne Mayberry	Superior Court of El Dorado County
Hana Belfour	Superior Court of El Dorado County
Geoffrey Wilson	Superior Court of Fresno County	2022 - Present
Amythest Freeman	Superior Court of Fresno County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Stephanie Negin	Superior Court of Fresno County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Mary Vasquez	Superior Court of Fresno County	2023 - Present
Samuel Dalesandro Jr.	Superior Court of Fresno County
Virna L. Santos	Superior Court of Fresno County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Leanne L. Le Mon	Superior Court of Fresno County	2021 - Present
Ryan I. Wells	Superior Court of Fresno County	2021 - Present
David Muñoz	Superior Court of Fresno County	2023 - Present
Melissa Baloian	Superior Court of Fresno County	May 5, 2025 - Present
Charles J. Lee	Superior Court of Fresno County	2021 - Present
Irene Luna	Superior Court of Fresno County	2021 - Present
Pahoua Lor	Superior Court of Fresno County	2022 - Present
Marcus Cuper	Superior Court of Kern County	2023 - Present
Stephanie Childers	Superior Court of Kern County	2023 - Present
Andrew B. Kendall	Superior Court of Kern County	2021 - Present
Bradley King Jr	Superior Court of Kern County
Dawn Bittleston	Superior Court of Kern County	July 7, 2023 - Present
Christie Canales Norris	Superior Court of Kern County	2021 - Present
Tanya Richard	Superior Court of Kern County	2023 - Present
Bernard Barmann	Superior Court of Kern County	2020 - Present
Jason Webster	Superior Court of Kern County	2020 - Present
Wendy Avila	Superior Court of Kern County	2020 - Present
Elizabet Rodriguez	Superior Court of Kern County	2021 - Present
Lisa Pacione	Superior Court of Kern County	2021 - Present
David Swift	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Paris G. Lewis	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2024 - Present
Lowrie J. Mendoza	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2024 - Present
Mark Davis	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Tiana J. Murillo	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Gary Rowe	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Bradley S. Phillips	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Katherine Chilton	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - June 2, 2023
Philip Marshall	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Lee R. Bogdanoff	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Brock Hammond	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Andrew Esbenshade	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Tricia J. Taylor	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Steven Ellis	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Michelle Graves	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Dina Richman	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Scott Nord	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Hernán D. Vera	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - June 15, 2023
Jerome Haig	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Kelly Boyer	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Elizabeth Potter Scully	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Jessica Kronstadt	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Dean J. Kitchens	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Edwin Chau	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	December 11, 2021 - Present
Nicholas F. Daum	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Tara Newman	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Alicia Blanco	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Ronald Kaye	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Richard Bloom	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Benjamin Hernandez-Stern	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Abraham Meltzer	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Susan Ser	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Ian C. Fusselman	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Michelle L. Kazadi	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Stephanie Davis	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Deborah Horowitz	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Rosa M. Fregoso	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	September 6, 2022 - Present
Liliana H. Gonzalez	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	August 12, 2022 - Present
Michael Wilson	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Evan Kitahara	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Daniel Alexander	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Jerry Marshak	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
E. Carlos Dominguez	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Pamela Dansby	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Josh Ryan Freeman Stinn	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Diane Goodman	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Angel Navarro	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	January 2, 2023 - Present
Maria Byrum	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
William E. Weinberger	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	July 15, 2022 - Present
Cristina Legaspi	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2024 - Present
Leonard Torrealba	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Lee S. Arian	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Adam Y. Chang	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Esther Kim	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	October 25, 2019 - Present
Gia Kim	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	July 6, 2022 - Present
Gilbert Rodriguez	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	July 29, 2022 - Present
Lisa Strassner	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Christine Rodriguez Tyler	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Sonia Govea	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Warren Masami Kato	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Reginald Neal	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Ramiro P. Cisneros	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Lowynn Young	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Carla Garrett	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Alfred Coletta	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Terry Truong	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Jerrold Abeles	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Cathy Ostiller	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Patricia Young	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Donald Buddle Jr.	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2021 - Present
Lauren Lofton	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Jannet Perez Santiso	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Adrian Gidaya Roxas	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2022 - Present
Lynette Gridiron Winston	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Diana Tsang	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
David Wasserman	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Ryan White	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Ryan Williams	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Gary Eto	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2023 - Present
Michael D. Weinstein	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2024 - Present
Marisa Hernández-Stern	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2024 - Present
Damaris Diaz	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Janet Hong	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Cindy Pánuco	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Tiffany Tai	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Jeanmarie Klingenbeck Warren	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Bryant Yang	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Karen Moskowitz	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Michelle DeCasas	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Lisa Washington	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
John Weller	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Robert Sanchez DuFour	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Rita Badhan	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Wendy Wilcox	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	2020 - Present
Hoa Hoang	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Lara Bazán	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Brenda C. Robinson	Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Maria Jhai	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	May 5, 2025 - Present
Syna Dennis	Superior Court of Los Angeles County	May 5, 2025 - Present
Brian Enos	Superior Court of Madera County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Kevin R. Murphy	Superior Court of Marin County	December 11, 2023 - Present
David Hood	Superior Court of Merced County	2023 - October 5, 2023
Jennifer O. Trimble	Superior Court of Merced County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Ian Rivamonte	Superior Court of Monterey County	April 17, 2023 - Present
Murat Ozgur	Superior Court of Monterey County
Jennifer Jean O’Keefe	Superior Court of Monterey County	2021 - Present
Kecia Lind	Superior Court of Napa County
Joseph J. Solga	Superior Court of Napa County
Alissa Bjerkhoel	Superior Court of Nevada County	November 27, 2023 - Present
Michael Mooney	Superior Court of Orange County
Stephen Hicklin	Superior Court of Orange County
Isabel Apkarian	Superior Court of Orange County	2021 - Present
Robert Gerard	Superior Court of Orange County	2020 - Present
Lee L. Gabriel	Superior Court of Orange County	2020 - Present
Benjamin Azar	Superior Court of Orange County
Alma Hernandez	Superior Court of Orange County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Robert Goodkin	Superior Court of Orange County	2022 - Present
Kunthavi Watson	Superior Court of Orange County
Huy Nguyen	Superior Court of Orange County	2023 - Present
Julie Swain	Superior Court of Orange County	January 2, 2023 - Present
Kimberly Carasso	Superior Court of Orange County
Fernando Valle	Superior Court of Orange County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Bryan F. Clavecilla	Superior Court of Orange County	2024 - Present
Yolanda V. Torres	Superior Court of Orange County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Thomas Lo	Superior Court of Orange County	2020 - Present
Eric Wersching	Superior Court of Orange County	2021 - Present
Carmen Luege	Superior Court of Orange County	2021 - Present
Vibhav Mittal	Superior Court of Orange County	2021 - Present
Scott Van Camp	Superior Court of Orange County	2021 - Present
Lindsey Martinez	Superior Court of Orange County	2022 - Present
Adrianne E. Marshack	Superior Court of Orange County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Juliet O. Macaulay	Superior Court of Orange County	July 11, 2022 - Present
Mena Guirguis	Superior Court of Orange County	2023 - Present
Justin Glenn-Leistikow	Superior Court of Orange County	2023 - Present
Tania Vallejo	Superior Court of Orange County	2023 - Present
Brian Waite	Superior Court of Orange County
Olga Giller	Superior Court of Orange County
Amy Sheth Sagel	Superior Court of Orange County	2023 - Present
Leon Dixson	Superior Court of Placer County
Melissa Begley	Superior Court of Placer County
Trisha J. Hirashima	Superior Court of Placer County	June 20, 2022 - Present
Valerie Navarro	Superior Court of Riverside County	March 25, 2022 - Present
Kristi Hester	Superior Court of Riverside County	2020 - Present
Joshua Knight	Superior Court of Riverside County	September 3, 2021 - Present
Joshlyn Pulliam	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Jerry Yang	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Melissa Hale	Superior Court of Riverside County
Jason Armand	Superior Court of Riverside County	2023 - Present
Manuel Bustamante Jr.	Superior Court of Riverside County	March 25, 2022 - Present
Magdalena Cohen	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Laura Garcia	Superior Court of Riverside County	2023 - Present
Mark Singerton	Superior Court of Riverside County	July 9, 2021 - Present
Walter Kubelun	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Marie Elena Wood	Superior Court of Riverside County	September 3, 2021 - Present
Francisco Navarro	Superior Court of Riverside County	2023 - Present
Mona Nemat	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Jeffrey M. Zimel	Superior Court of Riverside County	2020 - Present
Scott P. Williams	Superior Court of Riverside County	2024 - Present
Sean Crandell	Superior Court of Riverside County	September 3, 2021 - Present
Carol A. Greene	Superior Court of Riverside County	2019 - Present
Michele Mathis	Superior Court of Riverside County	2020 - Present
Gary Polk	Superior Court of Riverside County	2022 - Present
Julie Yap	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2020 - Present
Andi Mudryk	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2022 - Present
Michelle Igra	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2023 - Present
Philip Ferrari	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2022 - Present
Andre Campbell	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2021 - Present
Rei Onishi	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2023 - Present
Peter Williams	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2023 - Present
Richard Miadich	Superior Court of Sacramento County	January 31, 2024 - Present
Allison Williams	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2021 - Present
Shauna Franklin	Superior Court of Sacramento County	May 30, 2023 - Present
Julie Weng-Gutierrez	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Stephen Lau	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2022 - Present
David W. Bonilla	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2021 - Present
Carlton Davis	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2020 - Present
Benjamin D. Galloway	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2021 - Present
Satnam Rattu	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2022 - Present
Jeffrey Galvin	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2023 - Present
Deborah D. Lobre	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2020 - Present
Alin Cintean	Superior Court of Sacramento County
Martin Tejeda	Superior Court of Sacramento County	May 7, 2025 - Present
Dena Coggins	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2021 - September 18, 2024
Alexander Pal	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2022 - Present
George Acero	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2021 - Present
Jonathan Hayes	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2021 - Present
Augustin Jimenez	Superior Court of Sacramento County	March 25, 2021 - Present
Brenda R. Dabney	Superior Court of Sacramento County
Kara Ueda	Superior Court of Sacramento County	2020 - Present
Jeffrey Erickson	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Guy A. Bovée	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2020 - Present
Marie Moreno Myers	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	January 2, 2023 - Present
Michael Dauber	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Douglas K. Mann	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2021 - Present
John Wilkerson	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Candice A. Garcia-Rodrigo	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2021 - Present
Enrique Guerrero	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Aruna P. Rodrigo	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2021 - Present
Kawika Smith	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2021 - Present
Stephanie Tanada	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Charlie Hill Jr.	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Joni Sinclair	Superior Court of San Bernardino County
Kathleen Curtis	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2024 - Present
Christian Towns	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Rasheed Alexander	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	January 2, 2023 - Present
Damian Garcia	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Shannon Faherty	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2020 - Present
Joseph Ortiz	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2020 - Present
Albert Hsueh	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2024 - Present
Kory Mathewson	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2022 - Present
Nicole Quintana Winter	Superior Court of San Bernardino County
Zahara Arredondo	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Sarah Oliver	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Jessica Morgan	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2023 - Present
Joseph Widman	Superior Court of San Bernardino County	2020 - Present
Lenita Skoretz	Superior Court of San Bernardino County
Lilys McCoy	Superior Court of San Diego County	March 30, 2023 - Present
Renee Stackhouse	Superior Court of San Diego County
Francisco Sanchez	Superior Court of San Diego County	2023 - Present
Sara Kirby	Superior Court of San Diego County	2023 - Present
Victor Torres	Superior Court of San Diego County	2020 - Present
Danna Nicholas	Superior Court of San Diego County
Leonard N. Trinh	Superior Court of San Diego County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Jinsook Ohta	Superior Court of San Diego County	2020 - December 17, 2021
Terrie Eileen Roberts	Superior Court of San Diego County	2019 - Present
Daniela Reali-Ferrari	Superior Court of San Diego County
Anthony Campagna	Superior Court of San Diego County	2020 - Present
Olga Álvarez	Superior Court of San Diego County
Mark Cumba	Superior Court of San Diego County	2021 - Present
Michael Pulos	Superior Court of San Diego County	2021 - Present
Adelaida Lopez	Superior Court of San Diego County	June 9, 2022 - Present
Jihan Maloney	Superior Court of San Diego County	May 7, 2025 - Present
Peter A. Lynch	Superior Court of San Diego County	June 16, 2022 - Present
Daniel Segura	Superior Court of San Diego County	2021 - Present
Christopher S. Morris	Superior Court of San Diego County	June 17, 2022 - Present
Victor Pippins, Jr.	Superior Court of San Diego County	2020 - Present
Jose Scher Castillo	Superior Court of San Diego County	2020 - 2023
Sherry M. Thompson-Taylor	Superior Court of San Diego County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Alexander Calero	Superior Court of San Diego County
Rebecca Church	Superior Court of San Diego County	2022 - Present
Nadia J. Keilani	Superior Court of San Diego County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Marissa A. Bejarano	Superior Court of San Diego County	2021 - Present
Euketa Oliver	Superior Court of San Diego County	2021 - Present
Judy Bae	Superior Court of San Diego County
John Pro	Superior Court of San Diego County	2023 - Present
Charles E. Bell Jr.	Superior Court of San Diego County	June 30, 2022 - Present
Michael Rhoads	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2022 - Present
Patrick Thompson	Superior Court of San Francisco County	March 14, 2022 - Present
Simon J. Frankel	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2022 - Present
Murlene Randle	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2020 - Present
Kenneth Wine	Superior Court of San Francisco County
Julia Cervantes	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2025 - Present
Brian Stretch	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2024 - Present
Anne Costin	Superior Court of San Francisco County
Russell Roeca	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2020 - Present
Marisa Chun	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2021 - Present
Brian Ferrall	Superior Court of San Francisco County	2020 - Present
Tameem Mardini	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	2023 - Present
Blanca Bañuelos	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	December 23, 2019 - Present
Jayne Chong-Soon Lee	Superior Court of San Joaquin County
Erin Guy Castillo	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	April 8, 2021 - Present
Lance G. Jacot	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	December 23, 2019 - Present
Danielle Dunham-Ramirez	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	2022 - Present
Patrick Smalling	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	2021 - Present
Allan F. Jose	Superior Court of San Joaquin County
Sabrina Schneweis-Coe	Superior Court of San Joaquin County
Esmeralda Zendejas	Superior Court of San Joaquin County	2023 - Present
Crystal Tindell Seiler	Superior Court of San Luis Obispo County	2023 - Present
Michael Kelley	Superior Court of San Luis Obispo County	2023 - Present
Nicole S. Healy	Superior Court of San Mateo County	2021 - Present
Kevin E. Dunleavy	Superior Court of San Mateo County	2021 - Present
Chinhayi C. Cadet	Superior Court of San Mateo County	2021 - Present
Karen O'Neil	Superior Court of Santa Barbara County	May 25, 2023 - Present
Teresa Martinez	Superior Court of Santa Barbara County
Kristy Imel	Superior Court of Santa Barbara County
Hanley Chew	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2021 - Present
Christopher Van Meir	Superior Court of Santa Clara County
Rebeca Esquivel-Pedroza	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2022 - Present
Kimberly Parker	Superior Court of Santa Clara County
Ram Fletcher	Superior Court of Santa Clara County
Rafael A. Sivilla-Jones	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2021 - Present
Luis Ramos	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2020 - Present
Kelley Paul	Superior Court of Santa Clara County
Brian J. Buckelew	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2021 - Present
Jessica M. Delgado	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2021 - Present
Micael Estremera	Superior Court of Santa Clara County
Shella Deen	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2021 - Present
Benjamin Williams	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	April 7, 2023 - Present
Johnny Gogo	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	October 25, 2019 - Present
Vinita Bali	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2023 - Present
Brooke Blecher	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2020 - Present
Stephen Lowney	Superior Court of Santa Clara County	2023 - Present
Erika Ziegenhorn	Superior Court of Santa Cruz County
Jerry Bustos Vinluan III	Superior Court of Santa Cruz County	2021 - Present
Thomas Linville II	Superior Court of Siskiyou County	March 25, 2022 - Present
Kelly Trujillo	Superior Court of Solano County	2024 - Present
Kinna Patel Crocker	Superior Court of Sonoma County
Troye Kendall Shaffer	Superior Court of Sonoma County	2021 - Present
David Hood	Superior Court of Stanislaus County
Marcus L. Mumford	Superior Court of Stanislaus County	2021 - Present
Saul Garcia	Superior Court of Stanislaus County	2024 - Present
Maria Ratliff	Superior Court of Stanislaus County
Jesse Santana	Superior Court of Sutter County
John Hinely	Superior Court of Sutter County
Russell Burke	Superior Court of Tulare County	2023 - Present
Sara Bratsch	Superior Court of Tulare County	2023 - Present
Diana Weiss Aizman	Superior Court of Ventura County
Carol Hubner	Superior Court of Ventura County	May 12, 2025 - Present
Dan Wolk	Superior Court of Yolo County	2020 - Present
Catherine Hohenwarter	Superior Court of Yolo County	2023 - Present
Danette Castillo Brown	Superior Court of Yolo County

Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in California

Judicial selection in California
California Supreme Court
Method:	Gubernatorial appointment
Term:	12 years
California Courts of Appeal
Method:	Gubernatorial appointment
Term:	12 years
California Superior Courts
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	6 years

Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in California, including:

• California Supreme Court,
• California Courts of Appeal,
• California Superior Courts, and
• Limited jurisdiction courts

As of April 2025, California uses two different systems for its selection of state court judges. The state's appellate judges are chosen by gubernatorial appointment—where the governor directly selects judges—followed by commission confirmation. Trial judges are elected by popular nonpartisan vote.

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method

State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia
Method	Supreme Court (of 53)	Courts of Appeal (of 46)	Trial Courts (of 147)
Partisan elections (PE)	8	6	39
Nonpartisan elections (NPE)	13	16	34
Legislative elections (LE)	2	2	5
Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA)	5	3	6
Assisted appointment (AA)	22	18	46
Combination or other	3	1	17

State profile

Demographic data for California
	California	U.S.
Total population:	38,993,940	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	155,779	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	61.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.9%	12.6%
Asian:	13.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.7%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.4%	0.2%
Two or more:	4.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31.4%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,818	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.2%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in California

California voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More California coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in California
• United States congressional delegations from California
• Public policy in California
• Endorsers in California
• California fact checks
• More...

See also

• Judges appointed by Jerry Brown

California	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in California California Courts of Appeal California Supreme Court	Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in California	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Office of the Governor

Footnotes

California courts

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Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California

State courts:

California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts

State resources:

Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California