Newsom nominates judge to 2nd District, names 3 to trial courts

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday nominated a former 2nd District Court of Appeal attorney, Judge Natalie P. Stone, to fill a vacancy on the court while also naming three superior court judges.

The latest appointments follow two Court of Appeal nominations on March 12, along with 14 superior court appointments, as the governor races to fill many state judicial vacancies.

Even with this month's picks, Newsom still has three Court of Appeal vacancies to fill along with 73 superior court positions. The governor appointed 134 superior court judges and 12 appellate justices last year, the largest number since 2018 and the first days of 2019 - Gov. Jerry Brown's last year in office, when outgoing governors typically fill almost every available position.

Legal observers attribute the increase in vacancies to high workloads, a new retirement law and private sector opportunities.

Newsom is making a dent in the number of vacancies since Nov. 1, when there were six Court of Appeal seats vacant along with 89 superior court positions, according to monthly reports by the Judicial Council of California.

Stone has been a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge since 2015 after she was appointed by Brown. Before that, she served for five years as a 2nd District appellate judicial attorney and an associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.

A 1998 graduate of UCLA School of Law, Stone worked a year as a law clerk for Senior 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge A. Wallace Tashima before joining Munger.

She was picked to fill the vacancy that will be created pending Justice Gonzalo Martinez's confirmation as presiding justice of Division 7 of the 2nd District court. Martinez was nominated earlier this month.

Stone must be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Performance, comprised of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and 2nd District Senior Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert.

In his other appointments, Newsom elevated Los Angeles County Commissioner Angela J. Davis to a judgeship in the county. The UCLA School of Law graduate worked from 1995 to 2018 as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

Newsom elevated Riverside County Commissioner Arthur C. Hester to judge. The Arizona State University College of Law graduate worked in the Riverside County district attorney's office from 2004 to 2021.

Newsom also chose Eastern District First Assistant Federal Defender Jerome Price Jr. as a Sacramento County Superior Court judge. The UC Berkeley School of Law graduate previously was an assistant federal defender in the office from 2012 to 2021 and had been a law clerk for 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Damon J. Keith, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter.

All the appointees are Democrats except for Hester, who lists no party preference.

Stone's salary, if confirmed, would be $272,902 per year. The superior court judge appointees will earn $238,479.