Brown appoints 6 more judges, including 2 from his administration

As Gov. Jerry Brown spends his last month in office, he continues to appoint members of his administration to the bench, including two of the six superior court judges he named Friday.

That brings to eight the number of his current or former team members appointed to the bench in the last few months. He also promoted two commissioners to judgeships in Los Angeles County.

Brown’s deputy legal affairs secretary, Kristina B. Lindquist, 37, was appointed to the Sacramento County Superior Court.

Also, assistant secretary for legal affairs and chief counsel at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Patrick R. McKinney, 45, was appointed to the Alameda County Superior Court. He had served in Brown’s administration.

Lindquist was also staff counsel at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2008 to 2011 and tax counsel at the State Board of Equalization in 2009. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Timothy M. Frawley.

Mckinney served in several positions at the state Department of Justice and Office of the Attorney General from 2011 to 2015, including as supervising deputy attorney general and deputy attorney general. McKinney previously was special counsel for litigation at Farella Braun and Martel LLP from 2009 to 2011, and prior to that an associate for eight years.

He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jeffrey W. Horner. McKinney is a Democrat.

Brown elevated Commissioners James E. Blancarte, 65, of Burbank, and Timothy R. Martella, 70, of Pasadena to Los Angeles County Superior Court judgeships.

Blancarte was of counsel at Alvarado Smith APC from 2014 to 2016 and had been a partner for five years prior to that. He was also a partner at Carlsmith Ball LLP for four years and managing partner of his own firm for 11 years. He is a Democrat.

Martella was a Board of Rights hearing examiner at the Los Angeles Police Department Police Commission for eight years before his appointment as a commissioner and spent most of his career as a sole practitioner.

Cheryl C. Murphy, 56, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Samah Shouka, 46, of Orange, were appointed to the Riverside County Superior Court.

Murphy has been a sole practitioner since 1999, earned her law degree at Western State University College of Law and is a Democrat.

Shouka has been a Riverside County deputy district attorney since 2013 and has no party preference.

blaise_scemama@dailyjournal.com