Governor names 19 superior court judges

Gov. Gavin Newsom took another step toward putting his mark on the state judiciary late Friday, appointing 19 more superior court judges. The group is heavy on court commissioners and law partners. Fifteen are Democrats.

The move came days after his first California Supreme Court justice was confirmed, Martin J. Jenkins. As Newsom’s judicial appointments secretary, Jenkins played a key role in choosing the new judges.

Newsom followed a familiar pattern for governors, waiting until just after an election played out to announce a large batch of appointments. Judicial Council figures showed 106 open superior court judgeships as of the end of October, a number that will drop sharply by January as these choices and judges elected in March and on Nov. 3 take their robes.

The key beneficiary will be Los Angeles County, which has 23 open judgeships. The court will get 10 new judges. Many will leave lucrative law partner positions. These include three who will step away from firms bearing their names: Ronald O. Kaye, 59, a partner and co-founder of Kaye, McLane, Bednarski & Litt LLP; Elizabeth Potter Scully, 48, founding partner at Jacobson Scully LLP; and Wendy L. Wilcox, 50, a partner at Skane Wilcox LLP.

David W. Swift, 41, is a partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP who clerked for Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hernan D. Vera, 50, is a principal at Bird Marella.

Five of the new judges Newsom named are commissioners, including Alicia Y. Blanco, 54. She’ll be elevated after sitting five years on the Los Angeles Superior Court. She’ll be joined on the court by longtime administrative law Judge Carla L. Garrett, 57. Garrett has heard cases for the California Department of General Services since 2008 and was a deputy trial counsel at the State Bar.

The other new Los Angeles judges are Deputy Public Defender Rita L. Badhan, 43, Deputy District Attorney Robert E. Sanchez DuFour, 41, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryant Y. Yang, 38.

The Riverside court will get Kristi E. Hester, 47, who has been a commissioner there since 2018, and Deputy Public Defender Michele A. Mathis, 40.

The other county with the largest judge shortage in the state, neighboring San Bernardino, will also get two new judges. Guy A. Bovée, 54, has been a commissioner there since 2017. Joseph T. Ortiz, 50, has been a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP since 2012.

Butte County Commissioner Corie J. Caraway, 43, will be elevated. She has worked as a sole practitioner and deputy district attorney in the county.

Senior Deputy Public Defender Lee L. Gabriel, 45, will join the Orange County Court. He was a freelance writer and researcher for Law Crossing before passing the bar.

The San Francisco court will get partner Brian L. Ferrall, 54, from Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP and Murlene J. Randall. She is a longtime sole practitioner, a former senior labor negotiator for the city and led the criminal division of the district attorney’s office.

Newsom named commissioner Paul W. Baelly to a Ventura County judgeship. A former public defender, Baelly received an interim appointment to a seat he won in the March primary. This will allow him to take the bench weeks before he would have been seated in January.