SACRAMENTO–Governor Jerry Brown Wednesday announced the appointment of 12 California superior court judges, which include: Two in Alameda County; one in Contra Costa County; one in Fresno County; five in Los Angeles County; one in San Francisco County; one in Santa Clara County; and one in Solano County.
Clifford Blakely Jr., 48, of Moraga, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Blakely has served as a deputy public defender at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office since 2014. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gloria Rhynes.
Karin Schwartz, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Schwartz has served as deputy director and chief counsel at the California Department of Public Health since 2013.
John Devine, 53, of Walnut Creek, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Contra Costa County Superior Court. Devine has been supervising deputy attorney general at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General since 2011, where he has served as a deputy attorney general since 2001. Effective January 4, he will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Judith Craddick.
Heather Mardel Jones, 41, of Fresno, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Fresno County Superior Court. Jones has served as a commissioner at the Fresno County Superior Court since 2014. Effective January 4, she will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James Petrucelli.
Maria Cavalluzzi, 55, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Cavalluzzi has been managing attorney and a trial lawyer at the Law Offices of Cavalluzzi and Cavalluzzi since 2001. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge John Wiley Jr. to the Court of Appeal.
Jennifer Cops, 41, of Long Beach, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Cops has served as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2007. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Brian S. Currey to the Court of Appeal.
Gail Killefer, 65, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Killefer has served as director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, since 2010. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Frank J. Menetrez to the Court of Appeal.
Pamela Villanueva, 50, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Villanueva has served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office since 1995 and was a deputy public defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office in 1995. She fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on December 19, 2018.
David Yaroslavsky, 36, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Yaroslavsky has served as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2012. He fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on December 19, 2018.
Vedica Puri, 47, of San Francisco, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Francisco County Superior Court. Puri has been a partner at Pillsbury & Coleman LLP since 2005, where she was a senior associate from 2002 to 2005. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Tracie Brown to the Court of Appeal.
Nicole Isger, 48, of Mountain View, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Isger has been a sole practitioner since 2015. She was a partner at Geffon and Isger from 2004 to 2014. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Allison M. Danner to the Court of Appeal.
Terrye Davis, 63, of Vallejo, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Solano County Superior Court. Davis has served as a commissioner at the Contra Costa County Superior Court since 2016. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Peter Foor.
The compensation for each of these positions is $207,424.
