Friday, July 20, 2018

Governor Brown Appoints 12 Superior Court Judges


Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of 12 California superior court judges, some of particular appellate note:

  • Miguel T. Espinoza, 39, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
  • Alison M. Mackenzie, 42, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. 
  • Sheila O. Recio, 46, of Long Beach, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Orange County Superior Court.
  • Todd D. Irby, 60, of Rocklin, has been named to an interim appointment for a judgeship in the Placer County Superior Court.
  • Jennifer R. Gerard, 42, of Yorba Linda, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court.
  • Timothy J. Hollenhorst, 41, of Riverside, has been named to an interim appointment for a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court.
  • David E. Driscoll, 63, of Riverside, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Bernardino County Superior Court.
  • Loren G. Freestone, 47, of San Diego, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior Court.
  • Christine Van Aken, 44, of San Francisco, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Francisco County Superior Court. Van Aken has been chief of appellate litigation at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office since 2012, where she has served as a deputy city attorney since 2006. She served as a law clerk for the Honorable David H. Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court from 2004 to 2005 and was an associate at Arnold and Porter LLP from 2003 to 2004. Van Aken served as a law clerk for the Honorable Pierre N. Leval at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit from 2002 to 2003.
  • Susan M. Jakubowski, 50, of Santa Clara, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Mateo County Superior Court.
  • Carrie M. Stephens, 54, of Newman, has been named to an interim appointment for a judgeship in the Stanislaus County Superior Court. Stephens has served as a deputy county counsel at the Stanislaus County Counsel's Office since 1999. She has been a member of the U. S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps since 1991, serving as an appellate judge at the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals since 2017 and as a military trial judge at the Navy and Marine Corps Trial Judiciary from 2010 to 2015.
  • Ronda J. McKaig, 45, of Santa Paula, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Ventura County Superior Court.