Newsom makes 3 appellate nominations, 12 superior court appointments

Two Los Angeles County Superior Court judges, Mark K. Hanasono and Armen Tamzarian, were nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill vacancies on the 2nd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday. Justice Helen Zukin was nominated for elevation to presiding justice of one of the court's divisions.

Newsom also appointed a dozen superior court judges to vacancies across the state, including five in Los Angeles County.

The governor has been busy filling superior and appellate court vacancies, sometimes within weeks of vacancies, to try to keep pace with retirements. He appointed or promoted more than 100 judges and justices last year and more than 600 since he became governor in 2019.

Aside from the Los Angeles County Superior Court appointments, Newsom named new superior court judges in Fresno, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Ventura counties.

Judge Mark K. Hanasono

Hanasono has been a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge since 2013 and served for the previous 13 years in the public defender's office and the alternate defender's office. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center.

Tamzarian also has been a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge since 2013. A graduate of Southwestern Law School, he was a lead appellate attorney at the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division Three from 2008 to 2013, and previously was an associate and partner at Case, Knowlson, Jordan & Wright LLP from 1997 to 2008.

Judge Armen Tamzarian

Zukin, a graduate of Loyola Law School, previously was appointed by Newsom as a justice on the 2nd District court in 2023. She was a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge from 2018 until her elevation to the appellate bench and previously worked as an attorney for 12 years at Kiesel Law LLP. She was nominated as presiding justice of Division 4.

All three of Newsom's nominees to the 2nd District bench must be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

The new appointees to Los Angeles County Superior Court are Maria Jhai, a Central District assistant U.S. attorney since 2019 who previously worked as an attorney with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Lara Bazan, who has been in that job since 2012; Brenda C. Robinson, a senior attorney at the Children's Law Center of California since 2015.

Newsom's other Los Angeles County superior court choices are Syna Dennis, a commissioner since 2023 and veteran of the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office; and Hoa Hoang, lead appellate attorney at the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division 7.

In Fresno County, the governor appointed Melissa Baloian, a sole practitioner and former prosecutor. In Santa Clara County, Christopher Van Meir - a deputy public defender since 2018 - was named. Ventura County Commissioner Carol Hubner, who previously was a commissioner in Santa Barbara County before moving to Ventura County last year, was appointed as a judge.

Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy County Counsel Teresa Martinez was named to the superior court bench. In San Diego County, Jihan Maloney - a deputy district attorney since 2011, was appointed. Sacramento County Commissioner Martin Tejada, who has served in that position since 2023, was named to that county's superior court.

In Orange County, Senior Deputy Public Defender Michael Mooney, who has had that job since 2012, was appointed by Newsom to the superior court bench.

The compensation for the appellate court justices is $280,052 per year. Superior court judges will earn $244,727.