Newsom nominates appellate justice, appoints 11 judges

Orange County Superior Court Judge Maurice Sanchez was nominated Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill a vacancy on the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division Three.

The governor also appointed 11 superior court judges to vacant positions across the state. Seven of the new appointees are Democrats; the remainder have no party affiliation.

If he is confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which is almost always a formality, Sanchez -- the son of Mexican immigrants -- would become the ninth Hispanic among the state's 106 appellate court justices. The governor appears to be trying to bring the low percentage of Latino appellate justices closer to California's population, which is 40% Latino.

Last month, 1st District Court of Appeal Justice Victor A. Rodriguez, a former Alameda County Superior Court judge and staff attorney on the state Supreme Court, was confirmed.

Sanchez was appointed in 2018 as an Orange County Superior Court judge after a career as a commercial litigator at several law firms and stints at two major automakers. He was managing counsel at Mazda Motors of America Inc. and then senior counsel at Hyundai Motor America. Before he was appointed to the bench, Sanchez was a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and at Baker & Hostetler LLP.

Of the superior court appointments, Newsom picked five lawyers with experience as state or federal prosecutors. Both his appointees for San Diego County Superior Court -- Mark T. Cumba and Michael P. Pulos -- are California supervising deputy attorneys general.

Cumba, a graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, started his career as an assistant state's attorney in Cook County, Illinois, then went into private practice before joining the California Department of Justice in 2012.

Pulos worked a couple of years for Charles N. Browner, a judge on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal before joining the state attorney general's office in 2012.

Karlene M. Navarro, Sonoma County's director of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach since 2019, was named to that county's superior court. She previously was an appellate attorney and deputy public defender.

H. Glenn Kim, a Contra Costa County prosecutor for the past decade, was appointed to that court's bench.

Hanley Chew, a former prosecutor with the Northern District and Central District of California U.S. attorney's offices who has worked as of counsel with Fenwick & West LLP since 2016, was tabbed for the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

In Butte County, Newsom chose Chico sole practitioner Philip H. Heithecker, who worked in the district attorney's office before going into private practice.

Newsom moved Kern County Superior Court Commissioner Andrew B. Kendall up to a judgeship. Before joining the bench in 2018, he was a deputy public defender.

Irene A. Luna, an experienced defense attorney, was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court.

Josh R. Freeman Stinn, senior counsel at Loeb & Loeb LLP and a staffer for former Gov. Gray Davis, was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In El Dorado County, Deputy County Counsel Lauren C. Bowers was appointed as a judge.

In Solano County, Commissioner Christine N. Donovan was elevated to a superior court judgeship. She spent 12 years as a research attorney for the court before becoming a commissioner in 2019.