SACRAMENTO- Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed 14 new superior court judges, most of whom have experience on the criminal side of law.
“I am glad to see that he has filled these empty seats because there will be a backlog we’ve never seen before due to the COVID-19 shutdown,” said attorney Mike Arias, immediate past-president of the Consumer Attorneys of California. “We need every available courtroom filled.”
There are 72 remaining superior court judge vacancies in the 58 courts that make up the Los Angeles Superior Court system, which is the largest in the U.S., according to Judicial Vacancy Reports.
“I hope he will try to fill the rest of the empty seats before the courts re-open,” Arias told the Northern California Record. “I would like to see more civil practitioners appointed to the bench.
Among the judges appointed is 39-year-old John C. Weller, who has served as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office since 2007 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, according to a press release. Weller is a Democrat.
“John is relatively young, which gives him an advantage because many of the defendants who will come through his courtroom will be young,” said Lisa Houle who worked with Weller in the district attorney’s office of Los Angeles County until 2015. “He will understand and relate to the circumstances that may have brought them to the justice system. He will make a wonderful judge. He is thoughtful and considerate about life history and family background. It is a complex issue to decide someone’s fate.”
The two other judges appointed in Los Angeles County include Michelle E. DeCasas, 43, of Los Angeles who has served as a deputy city attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office since 2007, and Lisa R. Washington, 54, of Diamond Bar who has served as deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office since 1994.
“Most civil lawyers on the plaintiff side of the law tend to be happy with their lives,” Arias said in an interview. “There are not many trial lawyers looking for judgeships but there’s been a few that joined the bench over the years."
Robert Gerard, 64, of Newport Beach, is one of the few of Gov. Newsom's appointees who are civil practitioners.
Gerard has chaired the labor and employment practice group at Friedman Stroffe & Gerard P.C. since 2000. He earned a juris doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. Gerard is registered without political party preference.
In addition to Gerard, Thomas J. Lo, 55, of Lake Forest was also appointed in Orange County. Lo is a Democrat.
Joscelyn Jones, 63, of Brentwood, and Rebekah B. Evenson, 45, of Oakland,were appointed in Alameda County, Carlton G. Davis, 41, of Roseville, and Julie G. Yap, 39, of Sacramento, were appointed in Sacramento County, Rachel E. Holt, 48, of Redwood City, and Michael K. Wendler, 43, of Belmont, were appointed in San Mateo County, Brooke A. Blecher, 47, of San Jose was appointed in Santa Clara County, Daniel M. Wolk, 42, of Davis, was appointed in Yolo County and Shannon L. Faherty, 39, of Rancho Cucamonga, was appointed in San Bernardino County without political party preference.