COA Appointments!

Governor Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced his nomination of Justice Therese Stewart to serve as Presiding Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Two; Judge Gregory Weingart to serve as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division One; and Judge Victor Viramontes to serve as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight. The Governor also announced his appointment of 16 Superior Court Judges, which include two in Alameda County; one in Contra Costa County; three in Los Angeles County; one in Madera County; two in Riverside County; two in Sacramento County; one in San Bernardino County; two in Santa Barbara County; one in Santa Cruz County; and one in Tuolumne County.

First District Court of Appeal



Justice Therese Stewart, 65, of San Francisco, has been nominated to serve as Presiding Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Two. The first openly lesbian justice to serve on the California Court of Appeal, she has served as an Associate Justice of the First District Court of Appeal, Division Two since 2014. Justice Stewart served as Chief Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2014. She was a Director at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin PC from 1988 to 2002, where she was an Associate from 1982 to 1988. She served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch at the U.S. Court of Appeal, Eleventh Circuit from 1981 to 1982. Justice Stewart argued on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco in the trilogy of cases advocating for marriage equality for LGBT Californians in the California Supreme Court. She also led the team of San Francisco deputy city attorneys intervening as plaintiffs in the federal case challenging Proposition 8. Justice Stewart earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Jim Humes. Justice Stewart is a Democrat.

Second District Court of Appeal



Judge Gregory Weingart, 56, of San Marino, has been nominated to serve as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division One. He has served as a Judge at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2020 and from 2018 to 2019. He served as a Justice Pro Tem at the Second District Court of Appeal, Division One from 2019 to 2020. Judge Weingart was a Partner at Munger, Tolles and Olson LLP from 2004 to 2018, where he was an Associate from 1992 to 1995. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California from 1995 to 2004. Judge Weingart served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable William M. Byrne Jr. at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 1991 to 1992. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Judge Weingart fills the vacancy created by the removal of Justice Jeffrey Johnson. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert. Judge Weingart is a Democrat.


Judge Victor Viramontes, 49, of Whittier, has been nominated to serve as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight. He has served as a Judge at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2017. Judge Viramontes was National Senior Counsel at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 2010 to 2017, where he was a Staff Attorney from 2001 to 2005. He was Senior Trial Attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2008 to 2010, where he was a Trial Attorney from 2005 to 2008. Judge Viramontes was an Associate at Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe from 2000 to 2001. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. Judge Viramontes fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Maria Stratton as Presiding Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert. Judge Viramontes is a Democrat.

The compensation for each of these positions is $262,198.