Governor Gavin Newsome | Facebook Website
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the appointment of 11 new Superior Court Judges across several counties in California. These appointments include one judge each for Fresno, Kern, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara Counties; three judges for Los Angeles County; two judges for Orange County; and two judges for San Diego County.
In Fresno County, María G. Díaz from Los Angeles County will serve as a Judge. She has been Of Counsel at Allred, Maroko & Goldberg since 2016 and previously held roles at Díaz Law Firm and Heller Ehrman White & McAulliffe LLP. Díaz holds degrees from Stanford Law School and Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Keenan Perkins has been appointed to the Kern County Superior Court. He was a Court Commissioner since 2023 and worked as an attorney at his own law office from 2012 to 2023. Perkins also served as a Deputy Public Defender in Kern County.
Los Angeles County will see Jeffery McFarland, Safaan K. Ahmed, and Michael Cavalluzzi taking on judicial roles. McFarland is currently a Partner at Eisner LLP with previous partnerships at various other firms. Ahmed has been with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2012, while Cavalluzzi has operated his own law practice since 2001.
Amber Poston and Mehtab Sandhu have been appointed to the Orange County Superior Court. Poston is a Deputy Public Defender in Orange County, while Sandhu serves as an Assistant City Attorney in Anaheim.
Christopher Hayes will join the San Bernardino County Superior Court after serving as a Senior Appellate Court Attorney at the Fourth District Court of Appeal since 2015.
San Diego's new appointees are Lizbet Muñoz and Roy Lai. Muñoz has been a Court Commissioner in San Diego since 2019, whereas Lai is currently a Deputy District Attorney there.
Johnene Stebbins takes an interim position in Santa Clara County following her long tenure as a Deputy District Attorney there since 1998.
The compensation for these judicial positions is set at $244,727 annually.
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