California’s justices are broken down into three sections: Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, Associate Justices of the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal, and Judges of the Superior Court.
The courts are listed from highest to lowest, but the Court of Appeals and Superior Court nominations are specific to regions. These candidates are specific to the Los Angeles County.
California’s Supreme Court is made up of seven justices. The year in parenthesis is the year appointed.
Kathryn Mickle Werdegar (1994), Ming Chin (1996), Carol Corrigan (2005), Tani Cantil-Sakauye (2010), Goodwin Liu (2011), Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (2014), and Leondra Kruger (2014).
Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Werdegar and Chin, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Corrigan and Cantil-Sakauye, and Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Liu, Cuéllar, and Kruger.
Of the seven, Corrigan and Kruger are up for reelection to a 12 year term.
Superior Court | Court of Appeal
Carol A Corrigan received her undergraduate degree from Holy Names College in 1970, and earned her J.D. in 1975 at the Hastings College of the Law.
She served as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County for 12 years, before becoming a judge in the Oakland, Emeryville Piedmont Judicial District in 1989.
She served as a judge in Alameda County for three years before serving a full 12 year term on Division Three of the California First District of Appeal. Since 2006, she has been an associate justice on the California Supreme Court.
She was involved in the March 2, 2017 ruling that personal devices of government employees are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act in City of San Jose v. Superior Court.
She authored the majority opinion upholding a city ordinance that banned plastic bags in 2011, thereby reversing the appellate court in Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach.
In 2008, she wrote a dissent in the same-sex marriage case, In re Marriage Cases.
Others for Supreme Court | Court of Appeal | Superior Court
Leondra Kruger received her undergraduate from Harvard and her J.D. degree from Yale.
Kruger first served as an associate for Jenner and Block in 2001, and then served as a law clerk for two years.
She was an associate of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr for two years in 2004, and was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
From 2007 until 2013, she was an assistant to the Solicitor General and acting principal deputy Solicitor General.
She served for a year as a deputy assistant attorney general before being appointed to her present position as an associate justice on the California Supreme Court.
Kruger replaced Justice Joyce Kennard after Kennard retired in 2014. Her term ends Jan. 6, 2019, and this reelection would give her a full 12 year term.
She is one of the youngest justices, so information about her is very limited in comparison to Corrigan.
She was a deciding vote in a 4-3 ruling that San Francisco law firms cannot make Yelp remove posts.
Other justices argued that removing posts, “could interfere with and undermine the viability of an online platform.”
Others for Supreme Court | Court of Appeal | Superior Court
In the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal, 17 individuals are being appointed to become associate justices in eight divisions.
Division 1: Helen Bendix and Victoria Gerrard Chaney
Division 2: Elwood G. Lui and Victoria Chavez
Division 3: Anne Harwood Egerton, Luis A. Lavin, and Halim Dhanidina
Division 4: Nora Manella and Thomas Willhite
Division 5: Lamar W. Baker, Carl H. Moor, and Dorothy C. Kim
Division 6: Arthur Gilbert and Martin J. Tangeman
Division 7: John Segal and Gail Ruderman Feuer
Division 8: Tricia Bigelow
Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Helen Bendix is running for reelection in Division 1, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on April 17 of this year. She received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from Yale Law School.
She served five years as an associate, 12 years as a partner, and counsel for four years. Bendix then served as a judge for two years in the Los Angeles Municipal Court before serving as a judge for the Superior Court.
She succeeded Justice Elwood Lui who became presiding justice, and Bendix ran unopposed in Office 166 of the Superior Court when a total of 351 seats were up for election in 2016.
Division 1 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Victoria Gerrard Chaney is running for reelection in Division 1, and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 1, 2009.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College in 1967, and worked as a nurse before graduating with a J.D. in 1977 from Loyola Law School.
She began her legal career as an associate, and was an assistant Los Angeles city attorney for 11 years until Gov. George Deukmejian appointed her to the municipal court.
She was appointed to the Superior Court in 1994, and remained there until appointed to the appellate court in 2009. Chaney was retained by voters in 2010.
Division 1 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Elwood G. Lui is running for reelection in Division 2, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on May 22, 2015.
He received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.
Lui served three years as a deputy attorney general, four years as an attorney, five years as a judge on the Los Angeles Municipal Court, and one year as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In 1981 he first became an associate justice for this district, and served in that capacity for six years. Lui remained a partner and counsel for Jones Day from 1987 until 2014. He returned to serving as an associate justice of the district in Division 1.
Lui was appointed by the elevation of Frances Rothschild to presiding justice of the Division 1, Second District.
He was elevated to presiding justice of Division 2 in 2017, and was named administrative presiding justice in 2018.
Division 2 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Victoria Chavez is running for reelection in Division 2, and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 28, 2005.
She received her bachelor’s degree in 1975 from the University of San Francisco, and her J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1978.
Chavez began as an attorney in 1979, and became a municipal court judge in 1988. She was appointed to the Superior Court in January of 1992, and served in that capacity until her 2005 appointment.
Division 2 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Anne Harwood Egerton is running for reelection in Division 3, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017.
Egerton received her bachelor’s degree from Occidental college, and earned her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law.
Egerton filled the vacancy followed by Justice Patti Kitching’s retirement, and previously served as a judge for the Superior Court.
Division 3 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Luis Lavin is running for reelection in Division 3, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on June 26, 2015 to fill the vacancy left by Walter Croskey’s passing.
Lavin received a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a J.D. from Harvard University.
He served as a trial attorney for four years since 1995, and served a year as general counsel on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
Lavin was a judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County from 2001 until 2015, and has also served private practice firms in California and Massachusetts.
Division 3 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Dhanidina replaced Justice Richard Aldrich and was the first American-Muslim judge to be appointed.
Division 3 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Nora Manella is running for reelection in Division 4, and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking office on May 22, 2006.
Manella received her undergraduate degree in 1972 from Wellesley College, and earned her J.D. in 1975 from USC.
She was legal counsel to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, and became a federal prosecutor in 1982.
Gov. Deukmejian appointed her to municipal court in 1990, and two years later Gov. Wilson appointed her to the Superior Court.
President Bill Clinton nominated Manella to be the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in 1994, and nominated her to the U.S. District Court for that district four years later when Mariana Pfaelzer vacated the seat. She resigned on May, 21, 2006 and was appointed to the California Court of Appeal.
Division 4 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Thomas Willhite is running for reelection in Division 4, and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking office on April 4, 2005.
Willhite received his bachelor’s degree in 1976 from UCLA, and his J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law in 1979.
He was a deputy attorney general for 10 years after 1980, and was then appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court. Willhite was then appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1997.
Division 4 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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He was senior counsel, chief of staff, and deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice for a year each.
In 2013, Baker served as associate counsel to the president, and served as a special assistant to the president until 2015.
Division 5 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Carl Moor is running for reelection in Division 5, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Feb. 27 of this year.
He got his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, and earned a J.D. from the Yale Law School.
Moor was a law clerk for a year, associate for five years, and served as an assistant U.S. attorney for seven years in the Central District of California.
In 2001, he served as a partner and attorney for Munger Tolles and Olson, before being appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Brown on Dec. 5, 2013 to replace the retired judge, Richard Adler.
Division 5 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Dorothy Kim is running for reelection in Division 5, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on July 24 of this year to replace Justice Sandy Kriegler.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Kim served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2001 until 2010, when she became a deputy chief to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She then served as a judge on the Superior Court for five years before becoming an associate justice.
Division 5 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Arthur Gilbert is running for reelection in Division 6, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on July 24 of this year.
Gilbert earned his bachelor’s degree in English literature from UCLA in 1960, and received his bachelor of laws from the Berkeley School of Law in 1963.
He began his legal career as a deputy city attorney in 1964, and was in a private practice from 1965 to 1975. He then served on the Los Angeles Municipal Court until 1980.
He was first appointed to the court by Gov. Brown in December of 1982, and was appointed to presiding justice on Nov. 9, 1999. He was retained to a 12 year term in 2006.
Division 6 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Tangeman is running for reelection in Division 6, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in December of 2015.
He earned his bachelor’s from California State University at Fullerton, and received his J.D. from the Hastings College of the Law.
He served as an associate for four years before becoming a 19 year partner to Sinsheimer, Schiebelhut and Baggett in 1982.
In 2001 he became a judge to the Superior Court of San Luis Obispo County, and in 2016 became an associate justice.
Division 6 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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John Segal is running for reelection in Division 7, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on May 22, 2015 to fill the vacancy of Frank Jackson’s retirement.
Segal received his bachelor’s from William’s College and a J.D. from USC.
He first served as a law clerk for a year, an associate for seven years, and a partner for five years at Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp.
In 2001 he became a judge to the Los Angeles County Superior Court for 14 years, before becoming an associate justice.
Division 7 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Gail Feuer is running for reelection in Division 7, and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown on June 1 of this year.
She got her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany, and got her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Feuer served as a law clerk for a year, and was an associate for two years for O’Donnell and Gordon. She served as a deputy state attorney general for six years starting in 1987, and as a senior attorney and director for the Southern California Air Quality Program for the Natural Resources Defense Council for 12 years.
In 2005 she became a judge of the Superior Court and served in that capacity until her appointment to the Second District Court of Appeal.
Division 7 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
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Tricia Bigelow is running for reelection in Division 8, and was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 16, 2008 to fill the vacancy of Frank Jackson’s retirement.
She graduated from California State University, Fullerton and earned a J.D. from Pepperdine University.
Bigelow served nine years as a deputy attorney general, and was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1995. She served in that capacity for three years before being appointed to the Superior Court in 1998.
She served on the Superior Court until 2008, when she was appointed to the Court of Appeals.
Division 8 | Other Court of Appeal | Superior Court | Supreme Court
Of the 11 that were opposed, seven (offices 20, 63, 67, 71, 118, 126, and 146) were decided in the primaries.
The remaining four (offices 4, 16, 60, 113) are up for voting this midterm election.
Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Office 4: Alfred A Coletta, and A. Verónica Sauceda
Office 16: Patricia (Patti) Hunter and Sydne Jane Michel
Office 60: Holly L. Hancock and Tony J Cho
Office 113: Michael P Ribons and Javier Perez
Alfred A Coletta is a Deputy District Attorney for the county of Los Angeles running for judicial seat 4. He began his career in 1987, and in a year he became Deputy District Attorney, which he still is to this day.
This means he has practiced law for 31 years, and been in his position for 30 years. He has tried over 100 cases to verdict, including 42 homicides, and processed well over 1,000.
Coletta received 42.05 percent of the vote for a total of 481,525 votes.
“I have always been committed to being prepared in each and every case I have prosecuted, always demonstrating diligence,integrity, ethics, fairness, temperance, and respect to the opposing litigant and bench officer,” Coletta’s campaign website states.
Office Number 4 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
A. Verónica Sauceda is a Superior Court Commissioner in the county of Los Angeles running for judicial seat 4. Sauceda has been practicing law since graduating with a Juris Doctorate in 2001. She has worked as an attorney for over 13 years.
Sauceda received 46.76 percent of the vote for a total of 535,416 votes.
” I served for over 13 years at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and subsequently at the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice as a public interest attorney providing free legal representation in family law matters,” Sauceda’s campaign websites states.
Office Number 4 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Patricia (Patti) Hunter is a Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles and is running for judicial seat 16. She earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Loyola Law School, and graduated in the top 2 percent of her class. She has served as federal law clerk under District Court Judge Laughlin E. Walters and has been with the city attorney office for over 28 years.
Hunter received 37.94 percent of the vote for a total of 418,634 votes.
“Every day that I appear in court I have the privilege of saying ‘Patti Hunter for The People.’ I have appeared on behalf of ‘The People’ for over 24 years. Those who seek justice from the court system must be heard, respected and treated fairly,” Hunter’s campaign website states.
Office Number 16 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Sydne Jane Michel is a Senior Deputy City Prosecutor for the city of Redondo Beach running for judicial seat 16. She has been a prosecutor for Redondo Beach since 2006, achieving the position three years later in 2009, and Hermosa Beach since 2014. Her first experience as a prosecutor was in 1995.
Michel received 39.02 percent of the vote for a total of 430,548 votes.
“I will use my 23 years of experience across the criminal and civil court systems to bring valuable perspective to the bench. In my many years as a prosecutor, I have sometimes had to administer justice harshly to protect society. Judges must also be tough on criminals to protect society from criminal predators. That will be my top priority,” Michel’s campaign website states.
Office Number 16 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Holly L. Hancock is an Attorney at Law running for judicial seat 60. She received her Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in 2004. She has 12 years of experience as defense counsel, and tried to verdict 55 cases: 34 felonies, 29 acquittals in felonies, and 18 misdemeanors.
Hancock received 37.84 percent of the vote for a total of 418,553 votes.
“If elected, I am interested in pursuing rehabilitation and reconciliation in sentencing as a priority. The youth of our county need to be prepared to enter adult life, I will endeavor in my review of juvenile cases to make their prepation (sic) a priority. Looking at all sides of the issues involved, listening to the attorneys with respect and dignity,” Hancock told Voter’s Edge.
Office Number 60 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Tony J Cho is a Deputy District Attorney in the county of Los Angeles running for judicial seat 60. For thirteen years he tried 70 jury trials and for the last five years he prosecuted crimes against Elder Abuse, or crimes against the elderly and dependent adults.
Cho received 45.83 percent of the vote for a total of 506,865 votes.
” I have handled hundreds of felony cases that involved our most vulnerable victims. I prosecuted each case with integrity and respect to all the parties involved, upholding the highest standard of justice,” Cho’s campaign website states.
Office Number 60 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Michael P Ribons is an arbitrator and lawyer running for judicial seat 113. He has been a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles County Superior Court and Ventura County Superior Court. As a judge pro tem, he has presided over 7,500 court cases. He has also been a mediator for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Ribons received 34.05 percent of the vote for a total of 368,553 votes.
“In all of my legal capacities one principle has shined through – whether you are a victim of discrimination, a tenant who has been wrongfully evicted or a small business just trying to succeed – everyone deserves equal access to justice. I am ready to do my part and serve you on the LA County Superior Court,” Ribons’ campaign website states.
Office Number 113 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Javier Perez is a Deputy District Attorney in the county of Los Angeles running for judicial seat 113. He became a district attorney 27 years ago, and has served throughout Los Angeles County, working in Norwalk and Pomona courthouses, he also served as a supervisor in the East Los Angeles and West Covina courthouses and Pomona Juvenile office.
Perez received 41.38 percent of the vote for a total of 447,838 votes.
“It is my earnest hope that, by drawing from my own life experiences and the many years I’ve spent in the judicial system, I might be able to bring integrity, discipline, respect, humility, patience, empathy, fairness, fortitude and incisive judgment to the bench,” Perez’s campaign website states.
Office Number 113 | Other Superior Court | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court
Emily Theresa Spear won office 146 with 61.85 percent of the vote for a total of 661,775 votes. Spear’s opponent, Armando Durón received 408,262 votes.
Rene Caldwell Gilbertson won office 126 with 58.12 percent of the vote at a total of 635,811 votes. Ken Fuller came in second at 32.42 percent with 354,610 votes, and Shlomo Frieman ended with 9.46 percent of the vote at 103,516 votes.
Troy Davis won office 118 with 58.31 percent of the vote, totaling 632,652 votes. David Diamond received 452,286 votes.
Danielle Gibbons won office 71 with 53.78 percent of the vote with 585,786 votes. David Berger received 503,393 votes.
Maria Lucy Armendariz won office 67 with 60.66 percent of the vote for a total of 670,507 votes. Dennis Vincent came in second with 20.48 percent of the vote at 226,390 votes, and Onica Valle Cole ended with 18.86 percent and 208,478 votes.
Malcolm Mackey the incumbent of office 63, won reelection at 77.17 percent with 839,037 votes. Anthony Lewis received 248,263 total votes.
Wendy Segall won office 20 by attaining 53.37 percent of the vote, totalling 592,102 votes. Mary Ann Escalante received 517,252 votes.
Offices 1-25, with the exceptions of office 4, 16, and 20 include: Stephanie Bowick, Drew Edwards, John Lawson II, Deborah Sanchez, Philip Soto, Barbara Johnson, Thomas Long, Gus May, Cynthia Ulfig, Susan Lopez-Giss, LaRonda McCoy, David Hizami, Denise McLaughlin-Bennett, Judith Meyer, Leslie Swain, Nancy Ramirez, Andrew Kim, Richard Edward Rico, Gregory Weingart, John David Lord, Shelly Baron Torrealba, and Bruce Brodie.
Offices 26-50 include: James Otto, David Herriford, John Joseph Cheroske, Lia Martin, Melvin Sandvig, Ruth Ann Kwan, Mel Red Recana, Kevin Rosenberg, Holly Kendig, Firdaus Dordi, Carlos Vazquez, Michelle Ahnn, Rudolph Diaz, Mark Arnold, Ramona See, Scott Millington, Lisa Hart Cole, Katherine Mader, Dorothy Reyes, Steve Cochran, Michele Flurer, Michael Levanas, Ronald Coen, Mark Epstein, and David Stuart.
Offices 51-75 with the exceptions of office 60, 63, 67, and 71 include: Terry Lee Smerling, Tamara Hall, Christine Byrd, J. Christopher Smith, Michael Convey, Amy Yerkey, Laura Laesecke, Laura Ellison, Lynn Olson, Brian Yep, Randy Rhodes, Robert Harrison, Roger Ito, Eleanor Hunter, Joel Lofton, Yolanda Orozco, Robert Wada, Mark Kim, Margaret Miller Bernal, Laura Walton, and Gary Ferrari.
Offices 76-100 include: Martha Matthews, Bobbi Tillmon, Nicole Heeseman, Shellie Samuels, Victoria Wilson, Elaine Mandel, Gary Micon, Robert Schuit, John Lonergan Jr., William Fahey, Curtis Rappé, Eric Taylor, Patrick Madden, Teri Schwartz, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, Victor Martinez, Salvatore Sirna, Karen Ackerson Gauff, Kristin Escalante, Neetu Badhan-Smith, Sandra Ann Thompson, Mary Ann Murphy, William Highberger, Lawrence Cho, and Cary Nishimoto.
Offices 101-125 with the exceptions of 113 and 118 include: Sam Ohta, P. Tamu Usher, Christopher Estes, Abraham Khan, Dianna Gould-Saltman, Elizabeth Allen White, Ernest Hiroshige, Gia Bosley, James Chalfant, Upinder Kalra, Susan Bryant-Deason, Patricia Jo Titus, Dean Hansell, Michael Carter, Fernando Aenlle-Rocha, Ruben Garcia, Jesus Rodriguez, Sanjay Kumar, Frederick Shaller, Rashida Adams, Craig Mitchell, Lynn Scaduto, and Stephen Marcus.
Offices 126-150 with the exceptions of 126 and 146 include: Susan De Witt, Brian Gasdia, Lisa Jaskol, Cathryn Brougham, Alex Ricciardulli, Timothy Saito, Ana Maria Luna, Victor Viramontes, Mark Mooney, Andrea Thompson, Kerry White, Scott Gordon, Peter Mirich, David Fields, Brett Bianco, Paul Suzuki, Michael Cowell, Eric Harmon, James Horan, Chet Taylor, Hayden Zacky, Edward Ferns, and Michael Linfield.
Offices 151-165 includes: David Rosen, Akemi Arakaki, Sarah Heidel, Barbara Ann Meiers, William Sadler, Yvette Verastegui, Wesley Hsu, Daviann Mitchell, Sean Coen, Rubiya Nur, Maria Andrea Davalos, Francis Bennett, Mary Thornton House, John Kralik, and Daniel Lowenthal.
These individuals all ran unopposed.
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Voter results on superior court, candidates for the court of appeals, and candidates for the Supreme Court are from Ballotpedia.
Prior coverage of judicial candidates can be found on SAC.Media’s June 5 primary coverage.
