Governor Newsom Appoints 23 Superior Court Judges Across California

Twenty-three. That is how many Superior Court judges Governor Gavin Newsom put on the bench Wednesday in a single announcement, the Governor’s Office reported, filling vacancies in 14 counties from Alameda to Ventura. The appointments range from a longtime Fresno prosecutor to three lawyers who worked directly in the Governor’s own office.

Five of the appointments land in Los Angeles County, while four go to Sacramento County, where three of the four appointees served as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretaries in the Governor’s Office.

On Thursday, Gov. Newsom announced the appointments of Judge Erin Dixon and Judge Gary Tokumori to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Congratulations and welcome to the bench! https://t.co/JXMZb6PVoE

— https://x.com/LASuperiorCourt/status/2045271862205419812

Los Angeles Gets the Biggest Bloc

Los Angeles County Superior Court received five new judges, more than any other county in the announcement. Noelle Brown Adams, a Deputy District Attorney at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office since 2013, fills the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Wendy L. Wilcox. Edward Han, who has served as a Deputy City Attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office since 2026 and as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve since 2018, takes the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Spurgeon E. Smith. Kristen Williams, a court Commissioner since 2025 and a former Assistant United States Attorney from 2009 to 2025, replaces retired Judge David S. Cunningham. Rebecca Goodrich, a Deputy District Attorney since 2015 and an Adjunct Professor at USC since 2024, fills the seat opened when Judge Stephen Goorvitch was elevated to the Court of Appeal. And Arpa Stepanian, a partner at Weiss and Stepanian since 2015 and a former Riverside County Deputy Public Defender, succeeds retired Judge Maurice Leiter. Stepanian is one of only two appointees in the entire announcement registered without party preference; the rest are Democrats.

From the Governor’s Own Office to the Bench

Sacramento County accounts for four of the appointments, and three of those judges served as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Governor’s Office. Michele Beckwith, who has been a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary under Newsom since 2025 and previously served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of California, fills the vacancy created when Judge Lauri Damrell was elevated to the Court of Appeal. Jasmine Turner-Bond, a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary under Newsom since 2019 who also worked for Governor Jerry Brown, replaces retired Judge Donald J. Currier. Matthew Lee, a Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary since 2024 and former General Counsel for the California Department of Cannabis Control, takes the seat of retired Judge Maryanne G. Gillard. The fourth, Alicia Hartley, has been a Sacramento County Superior Court Commissioner since 2022 after 18 years as an Assistant Public Defender, filling the vacancy left by Judge Delbert Oros’s retirement.

Of the 23 appointees, at least three served as the Governor’s own legal staff.

Prosecutors, Defenders, and Private Practice Fill the Rest

Beyond Los Angeles and Sacramento, the appointments draw from lawyers across the state. In Alameda County, Jesse Basbaum, a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice since 2022 and a former Alameda County Deputy Public Defender, replaces retired Judge Stuart L. Hing. Fresno County gets David Olmos, a Senior Deputy District Attorney since 2021, filling the seat opened when Judge Amy Guerra was elevated to the Court of Appeal. Orange County’s Eddie Flores, a Principal at Flores Law Group since 2006 and a former Senior Deputy District Attorney, takes the vacancy created by Judge Maria Daghlian Hernandez’s elevation. In Mendocino County, Joseph Stogner, a sole practitioner since 1994 and a law professor at Empire College of Law since 1995, succeeds retired Judge Clayton Brennan.

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