Newsom names 8 appellate nominees, 9 Superior Court judges

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced eight nominations to California Courts of Appeal on Friday, including his legal affairs secretary and seven sitting judges and justices, as part of a slate that also includes nine new Superior Court appointments.

Justice Rashida Adams was nominated to serve as presiding justice of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division Three. Adams, an associate justice on the court since 2023 and a former Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, would succeed retired Justice Lee Edmon.

Newsom also nominated Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Denise Hippach to the 2nd District, Division Six, and his Legal Affairs Secretary David Sapp and Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lauri Damrell to the 3rd District. Sapp has served in Newsom's administration since 2019 and as legal affairs secretary since 2022.

In the 4th District, Newsom nominated San Diego County Superior Court Judges Marsha Amin and Lisa Rodriguez to Division One and Orange County Superior Court Judge Juliet Macaulay to Division Three. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Frederick Chung, a former Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner, was nominated to the 6th District.

The appellate nominations require confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Several nominees would fill vacancies that take effect in January and would be subject to voter confirmation in the Nov. 3 general election.

Newsom also announced nine Superior Court appointments, including four in Los Angeles County, two in San Diego County and one in Riverside County, along with interim appointments in Sonoma and San Francisco counties.

The Los Angeles appointees are prosecutor Justin Ford, federal public defender Erin Murphy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wilson Park and Federal Trade Commission Regional Director Maricela Segura.

Newsom appointed Riverside County prosecutor Timothy Mulhere to that county's Superior Court and commissioners Crystal Salumbides and Brigid Campo to the San Diego County Superior Court. David Kim received an interim appointment in Sonoma County, while San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Phoebe Maffei received an interim appointment to the San Francisco County Superior Court.