Monday, December 10, 2018
Page 1
Brown Names Three to L.A. Superior Court
Two Vacancies Remain on County’s Trial Bench, Two More Are Expected
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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JOSEPH J. BURGHARDT Deputy Public Defender |
LISA S. TAMASHIRO COEN Deputy District Attorney |
ANNE HWANG Deputy Federal Public Defender |
Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday appointed three persons to the Los Angeles Superior Court, all of whom will fill vacancies created by commissioner positions being converted to judgeships in October, and appointed 10 others to judgeships in other counties.
There remain two vacancies on the Los Angeles trial bench, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office said. The elevation of Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Brian Currey and John Shepard Wiley to the Court of Appeal for this district will create two more vacancies upon their expected confirmation by the Commissaion on Judicial Appointments, scheduled to meet Dec. 21.
California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said Wenesday night at a meeting of the Italian American Lawyers Association in Los Angeles that it is anticipated that by the time Brown leaves office on Jan. 7, all superior court vacancies will be filled. Brown has already filled all previously unoccupied seats on the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal.
Brown continued his streak of appointing aides to judicial posts. Two of those Brown chose Friday, in another county, currently work for him.
Los Angeles Judges
Those placed on the Los Angeles Superior Court are:
Joseph J. Burghardt, 46. He has been a deputy public defender for the county since 2000, after working at Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. for three years. He is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law.
Lisa S. Tamashiro Coen, 45. She is a Los Angeles deputy district attorney, a post she has held since 2000. Prior to that, she spent a year in solo practice and a year at Richards and Chemerinski. her J.D. is from Loyola Law School.
Anne Hwang, 42. Currently a chief deputy federal public defender for the Central District of California, she has been with the Federal Public Defender’s Office in various capacities since 2006. before which she was with Irell and Manella LLP starting in 2002. Hwang earned her law degree at USC School of Law.
Gubernatorial Staff Members
Both of Brown’s appointments to the Sacramento Superior Court are currently with his office.
Joginder S. Dhillon, 57, has been a senior adviser to the governor since 2013. A United States Air Force veteran of 20 years who has served as chief counsel for the California Gambling Control Commission and general counsel for the California Emergency Management Agency in addition to stints in private practice, Dhillon plans to keep his position with Brown until Governor-Elect Gavin Newsome takes office.
Peter K. Southworth, 53, is Brown’s chief deputy legal affairs secretary, where he has been since 2014. Prior to that, he was deputy secretary and general counsel at the California State Transportation Agency for a year, and worked in various roles with the California attorney general’s office from 1997-2013.
Brown appointed a deputy legal affairs secretary, Daniel J. Calabretta, to that same court on Nov. 29; placed two other deputy legal affairs secretaries on courts of appeal—Gabriel P. Sanchez in the First District and Peter Krause in the Third District—and has nominated his senior legal advisor, Josh Groban, to the California Supreme Court.
Registered Independents
Dhillon and Southworth are registered without a party preference.
Also independents are Coen and private practitioners Laura H. Miller, 50, appointed to the San Diego Superior Court and Audra Ibarra, 49, who will be taking the bench in Santa Clara Superior Court.
Joining Miller on the San Diego Superior Court are private attorneys Wendy M. Behan, 46, and Rohanee Zapanta, 42. Behan and Zapanta, like the rest of the appointees, are Democrats.
Those appointees are UC Hastings College of the Law professor Eumi K. Lee, 46, to the Alameda Superior court; private practitioner Wendy McGuire Coats, 44, to the Contra Costa Superior Court; Riverside Deputy Public Defender Johnnetta E. Anderson, 41, to the Riverside Superior Court; and Solano Deputy Public Defender Stephanie G. Jones, 39, to the Solano Superior Court.
Copyright 2018, Metropolitan News Company