Governor Gavin Newsom
today announced his nomination of two Court of Appeal Justices: Judge Tara
Desautels as an Associate Justice of the First District Court of Appeal,
Division Two and Justice Gonzalo Martinez as Presiding Justice of the Second
District Court of Appeal, Division Seven.
The Governor also announced his appointment of 14 Superior Court Judges, which
include two in Contra Costa County; two in Los Angeles County; one in Placer County;
one in Riverside County; one in Sacramento County; one in San Diego County; one
in San Joaquin County; one in San Mateo County; three in Santa Clara County;
and one in Solano County.
First District Court
of Appeal
Judge Tara Desautels, of Alameda County, has been nominated to
serve as an Associate Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division
Two. She has served as a Judge at the Alameda County Superior Court since 2010.
Judge Desautels was a Senior Associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
from 2005 to 2010. She served as a Deputy District Attorney at the Alameda
County District Attorney’s Office from 1997 to 2005. She earned a Juris Doctor
degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She
fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Therese Stewart as
Presiding Justice. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial
Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney
General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Jim Humes. Judge Desautels is a
Democrat.
Second District Court
of Appeal
Justice Gonzalo
Martinez, of Los Angeles County, has been nominated to serve as Presiding
Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Seven, where he has
served as an Associate Justice since 2023. Justice Martinez served as Deputy
Judicial Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom from
2019 to 2023. He served as a Deputy Solicitor General in the California
Attorney General’s Office from 2017 to 2019 and was a Partner in the Appellate
and Supreme Court Practice Group at Squire Patton Boggs from 2007 to 2017 and
in 2019. Justice Martinez served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California in 2010 and at the U.S. District Court,
Eastern District of California in 2007. He was an Associate at Coblentz Patch
Duffy and Bass LLP from 2005 to 2007 and at Morrison & Foerster LLP from
2003 to 2005. Justice Martinez earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School
and a Master of Arts degree in English from Stanford University. He fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice Dennis M. Perluss. This
position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments,
which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta
and Senior Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert. He is a Democrat.
The compensation for each of these positions is $272,902.
The DJ has Governor announces picks for courts of appeal, trial courts