4 named to state appeal court, 11 to superior

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday named four new Court of Appeal justices, two of whom are currently his top advisors on legal affairs, and one who is a top attorney for California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.

While the governor's legal affairs secretary, Peter A. Krause, and deputy legal affairs secretary, Gabriel P. Sanchez, got nods, his senior legal advisor, Joshua Groban, did not. Groban, who has overseen Brown's judicial appointments, is reportedly under consideration for a seat on the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles.

Brown has slightly clarified his possible final picks by naming Krause, said David S. Ettinger, of counsel with Horvitz & Levy LLP and author of the At the Lectern blog, which frequently examines California judicial picks.

In an August post on his blog, Ettinger noted Brown referred Groban to the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation to be evaluated for an appointment to the 2nd District.

"It's still most likely that Groban will end up on the 2nd District Court of Appeal," Ettinger said. "But it's not out the realm of possibility that he might be appointed to the Supreme Court."

Ettinger added he expects Brown's long-delayed Supreme Court nomination to come after the Nov. 6 election.

FUJISAKI

"If the appointment is at all controversial, Brown probably wants it not to be a distraction from next month's election," he said.

Also Friday, Brown elevated Justice Stuart R. Pollak to presiding justice of Division 4 of the 1st District Court of Appeal. And he named 11 superior court judges to seats in nine counties.

The court of appeal nominees need to go through a confirmation process. The superior court nominees do not.

Here is a complete list of Friday's appointments:

• Sanchez, the deputy legal affairs secretary, was nominated to Division 1 of the 1st District Court of Appeal. He graduated from Yale Law School.

• Carin T. Fujisaki was nominated to Division 3 of the 1st District. She graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law.

• Krause was nominated to the 3rd District Court of Appeal. He graduated from Loyola Law School.

• Frank J. Menetrez was nominated to Division 2 of the 4th District Court of Appeal. He has served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2015. He graduated from UCLA School of Law.

Menetrez

• Stuart R. Pollak was elevated to presiding justice of Division 4 of the 1st District. He has served as an associate justice on Division 3 of the 1st District.

• Linda Lye was named to the Contra Costa County Superior Court. She was a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California. She graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law.

• Eran Marie Bermudez was named to the Imperial County Superior Court. Bermudez was a complaint resolution officer at the University of California. She graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law.

• Randy L. Edwards was named to the Kings County Superior Court. He was a partner at Griswold, LaSalle, Cobb, Dowd and Gin LLP. He graduated from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

• Cherol J. Nellon was named to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Nellon was a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She graduated from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

• Jana M. Seng was named to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Seng was head deputy at the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender's Office. She gradated from the University of Washington School of Law.

• Michael E. Perez was named to the Orange County Superior Court. He was an assistant public defender. He graduated from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

• Shereen J. Charlick was named to the San Diego County Superior Court. She has been acting executive director at the Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. She graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law.

Krause

• Alexandra Robert Gordon was named to the San Francisco County Superior Court. Gordon was a deputy California attorney general. She graduated from Harvard Law School.

• Michael B. McNaughton was named to the San Francisco County Superior Court. He was a partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP. He graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law.

• Amarra A. Lee was named to the San Mateo County Superior Court. Lee was a deputy district attorney. She graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law.

• Syda K. Cogliati was named to an interim appointment for a seat on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Cogliati was a senior appellate research attorney on the 6th District Court of Appeal. She was elected in June to fill the vacancy created by the announced retirement of Judge John J. Almquist, who then died in October. Brown's appointment allows Cogliati to immediately assume the position she was otherwise elected to begin in January. She graduated from UC Hastings College of the Law.