Governor Brown Appoints 25 Superior Court Judges

Published: Feb 27, 2018

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today
announced the appointment of 25 California
superior court judges, which include: Three in
Alameda County; one in Contra Costa County; one
in El Dorado County; one in Humboldt County;
seven in Los Angeles County; three in Orange
County; one in Plumas County; two in Riverside
County; three in San Diego County; one in Santa
Cruz County; one in Shasta County; and one in Sonoma County.

Alameda County Superior Court

Jason Clay, 48, of San Ramon, has been appointed
to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior
Court. Clay has served as a commissioner at the
Alameda County Superior Court since 2013. He was
a partner at Clay and Bowen LLP from 2008 to 2013
and a sole practitioner from 2006 to 2008. He
served as a deputy public defender at the Alameda
County Public Defender’s Office from 1995 to
2006. Clay earned a Juris Doctor degree from the
University of Colorado Law School and a Bachelor
of Science degree from the University of
California, Berkeley. He fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge Willie Lott,
Jr. Clay is registered without party preference.

James R. Reilly, 63, of Piedmont, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County
Superior Court. Reilly has been a partner at
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani since 1995. He was
an associate at Pillsbury Madison and Sutro from
1986 to 1990 and served as an officer in the U.S.
Navy from 1976 to 1983. Reilly earned a Juris
Doctor degree from the University of San
Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of California,
Berkeley. He fills the vacancy created by the
retirement of Judge Robert B. Freedman. Reilly is
registered without party preference.

Amy L. Sekany, 47, of Livermore, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County
Superior Court. Sekany has served as the Alameda
County Superior Court’s family law facilitator
and managing attorney of Self-Help Services since
2016. She was the managing attorney for the
Eviction Defense Center in Oakland from 2014 to
2016 and from 2005 to 2009. Sekany was an
associate at Wylie, McBride, Platten and Renner
from 2009 to 2014, where she was a law clerk from
1999 to 2001. She was a crisis counselor and case
manager at the Tri Valley Haven domestic violence
shelter from 2001 to 2004. Sekany served as an
assistant state’s attorney at the Lake County
State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois from 1998
to 1999 and as an assistant public defender at
the Lake County Public Defender’s Office from
1997 to 1998. She earned a Juris Doctor degree
from Valparaiso University School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from Millikin University.
She fills the vacancy created by the retirement
of Judge Dan Grimmer. Sekany is a Democrat.

Contra Costa County Superior Court

Leonard E. Marquez, 44, of Martinez, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Contra Costa
County Superior Court. Marquez has been a partner
at Wendel, Rosen, Black and Dean LLP since 2010,
where he was an associate from 1999 to 2010. He
earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University
of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton
University. He fills the vacancy created by the
retirement of Judge George V. Spanos. Marquez is
registered without party preference.

El Dorado County Superior Court

Mark A. Ralphs, 57, of Diamond Springs, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the El Dorado County
Superior Court. Ralphs has been an assistant
public defender at the El Dorado County Public
Defender’s Office since 2007, where he has served
as a deputy public defender since 1997. He was a
sole practitioner from 1990 to 1997. Ralphs
earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University
of Northern California School of Law. He fills
the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge
Nelson K. Brooks. Ralphs is a Republican.

Humboldt County Superior Court

Kaleb V. Cockrum, 43, of Eureka, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Humboldt County
Superior Court. Cockrum has served as interim
public defender at the Humboldt County Public
Defender’s Office since 2018. He served as
supervising attorney in the Humboldt County
Conflict Counsel’s Office in 2017, where he was a
deputy public defender from 2004 to 2017. Cockrum
earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University
of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor
of Science degree from Andrews University. He
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of
Judge Marilyn B. Miles. Cockrum is registered without party preference.

Los Angeles County Superior Court

Michael R. Amerian, 43, of Los Angeles, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. Amerian served as a deputy
city attorney in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s
Office since 2003. He served as a law clerk for
the Honorable Dickran M. Tevrizian, Jr. at the
U.S. District Court, Central District of
California, from 1999 to 2000. Amerian earned a
Juris Doctor degree from the University of
Southern California School of Law and a Bachelor
of Science degree from Georgetown University
School of Foreign Service. He fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge R. Carlton Seaver. Amerian is a Republican.

Armenui A. Ashvanian, 46, of Glendale, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. Ashvanian has served as a
deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s Office since 2005 and
has been an adjunct assistant professor at the
Glendale University College of Law since 2014.
She was an associate at Yeghiayan and Associates
from 2004 to 2005. Ashvanian earned a Juris
Doctor degree from the Glendale University
College of Law and an Associate of Science degree
from Glendale Community College. She fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Judge George
Genesta. Ashvanian is a Democrat.

Ashfaq (Ron) G. Chowdhury, 43, of Los Angeles,
has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los
Angeles County Superior Court. Chowdhury has
served as a deputy federal public defender at the
Office of the Federal Public Defender, Central
District of California since 2010. He was an
associate at Cole Pedroza LLP from 2008 to 2010,
at Munger, Tolles and Olson LLP from 2005 to 2008
and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison
LLP from 2003 to 2005.  Chowdhury served as a law
clerk for the Honorable Frederic Block at the
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
from 2001 to 2003 and for the Honorable Richard
N. Palmer at the Connecticut Supreme Court from
2000 to 2001. He earned a Juris Doctor degree
from Columbia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Williams College. He fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lloyd
M. Nash. Chowdhury is a Democrat.

Danette J. Gómez, 41, of Huntington Beach, has
been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. Gómez has served as a
deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles
County District Attorney’s Office since 2006. She
was an attorney at the Children’s Law Center of
California in 2006. Gómez earned a Juris Doctor
degree from Whittier Law School and a Bachelor of
Business Administration degree from the
University of La Verne. She fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon. Gómez is a Democrat.

Kimberley Baker Guillemet, 39, of View
Park-Windsor Hills, has been appointed to a
judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior
Court. Guillemet has served as director of the
Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Reentry since 2015.
She served as a deputy attorney general at the
California Department of Justice, Office of the
Attorney General from 2008 to 2015 and was an
attorney at Disability Rights California from
2005 to 2008. Guillemet earned a Juris Doctor
degree from the University of Southern California
School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Stanford University. She fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge David L. Minning. Guillemet is a Democrat.

Joseph M. Lipner, 53, of Los Angeles, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. Lipner has been a partner
at Irell and Manella LLP since 1996, where he was
an associate from 1991 to 1996. He was a
litigation associate to Professor Alan Dershowitz
at Harvard Law School from 1989 to 1991. He
served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ruth I.
Abrams at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial
Court from 1988 to 1989. Lipner earned a Juris
Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from Yeshiva College. He
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of
Judge Carol B. Goodson. Lipner is a Democrat.

Audra M. Mori, 50, of Santa Monica, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court. Mori has been managing
partner of the Los Angeles Office of Perkins Coie
LLP since 2017, where she has been a partner
since 2005. She was a partner at Piper Rudnick
LLP from 2002 to 2004. Mori was a partner at
Preston, Gates and Ellis LLP in 2002, where she
was an associate from 1998 to 2001. She was an
associate at Andrews Kurth LLP from 1996 to 1998
and served as a law clerk to the Honorable
Richard W. Goldberg at the U.S. Court of
International Trade from 1994 to 1996. She was an
associate at Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison from
1992 to 1994. Mori earned a Juris Doctor degree
from Cornell Law School and a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of California, Los
Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the
conversion of a court commissioner position on
June 26, 2017. Mori is registered without party preference.

Orange County Superior Court

Cynthia M. Herrera, 46, of Santa Ana, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Orange County
Superior Court. Herrera has served as a senior
deputy district attorney in the Orange County
District Attorney’s Office since 2011, where she
has been a deputy district attorney since 1997.
She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law
School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree
from the University of California, Irvine. She
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of
Judge W. Michael Hayes. Herrera is a Democrat.

Kimberly A. Knill, 54, of Aliso Viejo, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Orange County
Superior Court. Knill has served as a senior
appellate attorney at the Fourth District Court
of Appeal since 2016. She was a research attorney
at the Orange County Superior Court from 2014 to
2016, a writing instructor at Whittier Law School
from 1997 to 1998 and a sole practitioner from
1994 to 2014. Knill was an associate at
McDermott, Will and Emery from 1988 to 1994. She
earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Pepperdine
University School of Law and a Bachelor of
Science degree from the University of Arizona.
She fills the vacancy created by the retirement
of Judge Mary F. Schulte. Knill is a Republican.

Thomas S. McConville, 53, of Irvine, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Orange County
Superior Court. McConville has been a partner at
Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe since 2009,
where he was of counsel from 2007 to 2009. He
served as deputy chief of the Santa Ana Office in
the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of
California from 2004 to 2006, where he served as
an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2000 to 2006.
McConville served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney
in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District
of Ohio from 1996 to 2000 and was an associate at
McKenna and Cuneo from 1991 to 1996. He earned a
Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown
University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Stanford University. He fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Thomas
J. Borris. McConville is a Democrat.

Plumas County Superior Court

Douglas M. Prouty, 64, of Portola, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Plumas County
Superior Court. Prouty has been a sole
practitioner since 1990, primarily working as a
contract public defender since 2001. He was owner
and mediator at Timberline Mediation Services
from 1994 to 2001. Prouty was an associate at the
Law Offices of Robert F. French from 1987 to 1990
and at the Law Offices of James Paul Green from
1982 to 1987. He was a part-time attorney at the
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office from
1982 to 1983. Prouty is a member of the Plumas
County Community Corrections Partnership
Executive Committee. He earned a Juris Doctor
degree from the San Francisco Law School and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College.
He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of
Judge Ira R. Kaufman. Prouty is a Democrat.

Riverside County Superior Court

Russell L. Moore, 41, of Los Angeles, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County
Superior Court. Moore has served as a deputy
district attorney at the Los Angeles County
District Attorney’s Office since 2005. He was an
associate at Boccardo Law Firm LLP in 2005 and
served as a deputy district attorney at the
Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office
from 2001 to 2004. Moore earned a Juris Doctor
degree from the University of San Francisco
School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of California, Los Angeles. He
fills the vacancy of a new position created on
September 18, 2017. Moore is registered without party preference.

Gregory J. Olson, 53, of La Quinta, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County
Superior Court. Olson has served as a
commissioner at the Riverside County Superior
Court since 2005. He served as a deputy public
defender at the Riverside County Public
Defender’s Office from 1990 to 2005. Olson earned
a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San
Diego School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree
from Seattle University. He fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge Richard A.
Erwood. Olson is registered without party preference.

San Diego County Superior Court

Truc T. Do, 46, of San Diego, has been appointed
to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior
Court. Do has been a partner at Jones Day since
2014. She was a partner at Munger, Tolles and
Olson from 2009 to 2014 and served as a deputy
district attorney at the Los Angeles County
District Attorney’s Office from 1999 to 2009. She
earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law
School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of California, Los Angeles. She fills
the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge
Joel M. Pressman. Do is a Democrat.

Marcella O. McLaughlin, 47, of San Diego, has
been appointed to a judgeship in the San Diego
County Superior Court. McLaughlin has served as a
deputy district attorney at the San Diego County
District Attorney’s Office since 2005. She was a
deputy city attorney in the San Diego City
Attorney’s Office from 1999 to 2004. McLaughlin
earned a Juris Doctor degree from the California
Western School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of California, San
Diego. She fills the vacancy created by the
retirement of Judge Edward P. Allard III. McLaughlin is a Democrat.

Saba Sheibani, 39, of San Diego, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the San Diego County
Superior Court. Sheibani has been an assistant
supervising attorney at the San Diego County
Public Defender’s Office since 2016, where she
has served as a deputy public defender since
2004. She was a law clerk at the San Mateo
Private Defender Program in 2004. Sheibani earned
a Juris Doctor degree from the University of
California, Hastings College of the Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of
California, Berkeley. She fills the vacancy
created by the elevation of Judge William S. Dato
to the Court of Appeal. Sheibani is a Democrat.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court

Timothy J. Schmal, 61, of Santa Cruz, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Santa Cruz County
Superior Court. Schmal has been a sole
practitioner since 2014. He was a partner at
Burton, Schmal and DiBenedetto LLP from 2008 to
2014 and at Burton, Volkmann and Schmal LLP from
1997 to 2008. Schmal was a partner at Gassett,
Perry and Frank from 1988 to 1997, where he was
an associate from 1983 to 1988. Schmal was an
instructor at the Santa Clara University School
of Law from 1982 to 1983. He earned a Juris
Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University
School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from
California State University, Fresno. He fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Judge
Heather D. Morse. Schmal is a Democrat.

Shasta County Superior Court

Jody M. Burgess, 44, of Redding, has been
appointed to a judgeship in the Shasta County
Superior Court. Burgess has been a partner at
Burgess and Bogener since 2015. He was a partner
at Maire and Burgess from 2007 to 2015, where he
was an associate from 2002 to 2007. He earned a
Juris Doctor degree from the University of the
Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of
Science degree from California State University,
Sacramento. He fills the vacancy created by the
retirement of Judge Gregory S. Gaul. Burgess is a Republican.

Sonoma County Superior Court

Christopher M. Honigsberg, 38, of Petaluma, has
been appointed to a judgeship in the Sonoma
County Superior Court. Honigsberg has served as a
deputy district attorney at the Sonoma County
District Attorney’s Office since 2009. He served
as a deputy district attorney at the Tulare
County District Attorney’s Office from 2006 to
2009. Honigsberg earned a Juris Doctor degree
from the University of San Francisco School of
Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of California, Santa Barbara. He fills
the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge
Elliot L. Daum. Honigsberg is a Democrat.

The compensation for each of these positions is $200,042.