Governor appoints 33 new superior court judges

When Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini joined the bench in 2015, he said the "hardest part" of accepting the appointment was leaving the law firm he had operated with his wife for eight years.

The Benjaminis will soon be working at the same address again. On Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown named Emily A. Benjamini as a Riverside County Superior Court judge as well. She will close the Palm Desert solo criminal defense practice she's operated since 2014.

The appointment was one of 33 Brown made to superior courts on Thursday, kicking off his final push to fully stock the judiciary before leaving office in January. The new judges fill nearly half of the 70 open superior court slots identified by the Judicial Council at the end of September.

Making good on his promise to diversify the California judiciary, Brown appointed 15 women, nine Latinos, and several people from legal specialties that have not traditionally been well represented on the bench. Just nine of the new judges were non-Hispanic white men.

In this vein, he has often touted "firsts" with his appointments. This time, he highlighted Glenn County Counsel Alicia R. Ekland. Like several recent Brown appointees, she has spent much of her career handling human rights law. This includes stints at Legal Services of Northern California and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.

"It's a tremendous honor," Ekland said. "I feel so grateful to have this opportunity to be the first woman appointed to the bench in Glenn County."

He also named five Republicans. This includes Jamie L. Pesce, 39. She replaces another Republican, Steven C. Bailey, on the El Dorado County Superior Court. He retired to run for attorney general. He faces Brown's own appointee, Xavier Becerra, in the November general election. Pesce has been a deputy district attorney in the county since 2005.

Brown also named two other judges under 40, both in Fresno County. Amy K. Guerra, 39, is the chief defense attorney at the Alternate Defense Office of Richard Ciummo & Associates, where she has worked since 2007.

Alicia I. de Alba, 38, found out Thursday morning while on a school field trip with her7-year-old daughter. She is a partner at Lang Richert & Patch PC, a Fresno business and construction firm where she has spent her entire career.

"We were at the Fresno Zoo learning about polar bears when my phone started blowing up," she said. "I'm very proud and honored with the trust the governor is giving me to have this position. Being the youngest feels great."

The oldest appointee is Brenda J. Penny, 72. She joined the Los Angles County Superior Court as a probate attorney in 1997 and was named a commissioner in 2014.

Like many court officers in Los Angeles, Penny has seen some cases involving celebrities. Last year, she denied a request from a man who was seeking genetic testing to try to prove he was the son of Juan Gabriel and thus entitled to a portion of the late singer's $45 million estate.

Los Angeles County will get 15 new judges. Three of these are interim appointments for winners of judicial elections during the June primaries who would otherwise take office in January.

Maria Lucy Armendariz emerged from a four-way primary. She has a somewhat unusual background for a new judge, having spent several years in the state Capitol as a committee counsel and as chief of staff to now-former Sen. Gloria Romero. She spent the last 11 years as a State Bar Court judge.

ARMENDARIZ

Also taking over seats they won are Danielle R. A. Gibbons, a longtime criminal defense attorney who has been a commissioner since last year, and Rene C. Gilbertson, a former deputy county counsel and attorney with the Children's Law Center.

Jill T. Feeney will join the court after spending 11 years in the major frauds section of the U.S. attorney's office. She co-led a successful, high-profile 2009 criminal fraud prosecution against two former executives of iPayment, an online payments company.

Other new Los Angeles County judges include Craig S. Barnes,, a longtime attorney with Sedgwick LLP who founded his own firm, Clyde & Co., this year; Mario Barrera, who spent 26 years working as either a deputy public defender or alternate public defender in the county; and Diego H. Edber, a veteran of the Los Angeles city attorney's office who became a commissioner in 2017.

Other new Los Angeles County judges include Sabina A. Helton, who has been a private attorney at several firms, most recently as a Buchalter APC shareholder; Carolina V. Lugo, who has spent most of her career as a deputy district attorney; Michael R. Powell, a longtime deputy public defender; Anne K. Richardson, a former private attorney who has been the director of the Consumer Law Project at Public Counsel since 2014; Robert Serna, a deputy district attorney in the county since 2000; Michelle S. Short, who became a commissioner in 2015 after a career as a family law and child support attorney; Timothy M. Weiner, who was named a commissioner in 2016 after 16 years with the state Department of Justice.

The chronically underserved Riverside County Superior Court is getting three new judges, and will now be considered fully staffed.

BENJAMINI

One of these is Kenneth J. Fernandez. A commissioner with the court since 2004, he has been a leading voice urging Brown and the Legislature to appoint more judges to the fast-growing county. Fittingly, he will fill a new position created this year.

Two other new Riverside County judges fill spots created by retirement. This includes Benjamini and Eric A. Keen, who has spent the past decade as a supervising deputy public defender.

Santa Clara County also gets three new judges. Frederick S. Chung, has been involved in major intellectual property cases as a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Charles F. Adams is a former staff attorney with the court who has clerked for U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila of San Jose; Panteha E. Saban has been a deputy public defender since 2000.

Merced County Superior Court will see two commissioners appointed to judgeships. Shelly A. Seymour is a veteran self-help attorney. Steven K. Slocum, spent most of his career in the district attorney's office. They are among 10 commissioners Brown elevated in the latest batch of appointments.

El Dorado County Superior Court will add Michael J. McLaughlin. He spent most of his career at the Zephyr Cove real estate and business firm Feldman McLaughlin Thiel LLP, where he has been a partner since 2007.

Jeffrey C. Kauffman joins Solano County Superior Court after 24 years with the district attorney's office. Sonny S. Sandhu will join the Stanislaus County Superior Court after a long tenure in the public defender's office.

Three other judges were also named to jobs they won in June: John R. Soldati, a San Joaquin County commissioner and former deputy district attorney; and San Diego County's Carlos Varela, who leaves the district attorney's office after two decades' service. Ventura's Anthony J. Sabo is a veteran prosecutor who began his career in Ohio and was most recently a commissioner.

Brown still has five appeal court judges to name, as well as a state Supreme Court Justice. Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar retired over a year ago.