Many have appellate backgrounds, of course!
Victor A. Rodriguez, 42, of Oakland, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Rodriguez has served as supervising staff attorney for the Honorable Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar at the California Supreme Court since 2015, where he served as judicial staff attorney for the Honorable Carlos R. Moreno, Goodwin H. Liu and Carol A. Corrigan from 2006 to 2015. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 2005 to 2006. Rodriguez was a Skadden fellow at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 2003 to 2005. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, a Master of Arts degree from California State University, Long Beach and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Effective January 26, 2018, Rodriguez will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Keith H. Fudenna. Rodriguez is a Democrat.
David J. Hesseltine, 47, of Tustin, has been appointed to a
judgeship in the Orange County Superior Court. Hesseltine has served as a
senior appellate attorney at the Fourth District Court of Appeal since 2010. He
served as a senior legal research attorney at the Orange County Superior Court
from 2004 to 2010. Hesseltine was a partner at Connor, Blake and Griffin LLP
from 2003 to 2004, where he was an associate from 1996 to 2002. He earned a
Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine. Hesseltine
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Andrew P. Banks. He is a
Democrat.
Emma C. Smith, 37, of San Clemente, has been appointed to a
judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court. Smith has been an assistant
public defender at the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office since 2017,
where she served as a senior deputy public defender from 2009 to 2017. She was
an attorney at the California Appellate Project from 2007 to 2008. Smith earned
a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from American University. She fills the vacancy created
by the retirement of Judge James S. Hawkins. Smith is a Democrat.
Shama H. Mesiwala, 43, of Davis, has been appointed to a
judgeship in the Sacramento County Superior Court. Mesiwala has served as a
commissioner at the Sacramento County Superior Court since 2017. She has served
as a visiting lecturer of law at the University of California, Davis School of
Law since 2013. Mesiwala was a judicial attorney at the Third District Court of
Appeal from 2004 to 2017, where she served as a senior judicial attorney for
the Honorable Ronald B. Robie from 2006 to 2017 and as a central staff attorney
from 2004 to 2006. She served as a staff attorney at the Central California
Appellate Program from 1999 to 2004 and as an attorney at the Office of the
Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of California in 1999. Mesiwala is
co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Sacramento. She earned a Juris
Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. She fills
the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on
October 13, 2016. Mesiwala is the first South Asian American judge ever
appointed to the Sacramento County Superior Court. She is a Democrat.
Danny Y. Chou, 48, of Millbrae, has been appointed to a
judgeship in the San Mateo County Superior Court. Chou has served as an
assistant county counsel at the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office since 2012.
He served as chief of complex and special litigation at the San Francisco City
Attorney’s Office from 2008 to 2012, where he was chief of appellate litigation
from 2006 to 2008. Chou served as a supervising staff attorney at the
California Supreme Court from 2005 to 2006, where he was a judicial staff
attorney from 1999 to 2005. He was a staff attorney at the U.S. Court of
Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 1998 to 1999, an associate at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski,
Canady, Falk and Rabkin from 1995 to 1998 and a law clerk for the Honorable
Stanley A. Weigel at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
from 1994 to 1995. Chou earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School
and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. Effective February 26,
2018, Chou will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Barbara J.
Mallach. Chou is a Democrat.
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