14 New Judges for California Superior Courts

SACRAMENTO (CN) - The governor's office announced the appointment of 14 new judges to California superior courts.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday appointed Steven J. Singley to a judgeship on San Bernardino County Superior Court. Singley, 46, of Claremont, has been deputy county counsel at the San Bernardino Office of County Counsel since 2008. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John B. Gibson. Singley is a Republican.

Geoffrey M. Howard was appointed to the Marin County Superior Court. Howard, 48, of Tiburon, has been in private practice since 1998, with a spell as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco in 1996. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James Ritchie. Howard is registered without party preference.

Charles Crompton and Edward Torpoco were appointed to San Francisco County Superior Court.

Crompton, 52, of San Francisco, has been in private practice since 1989. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Katherine Feinstein. He is a Democrat.

Torpoco, 40, of San Francisco, has worked for eBay since 2006. He worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California from 2002 to 2006, as a trial attorney for the Justice Department's Criminal Division from 2000 to 2002, and as a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County from 1999 to 2000. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patrick Mahoney. He is a Democrat.

Sharon Kalemkiarian was appointed to San Diego County Superior Court. Kalemkiarian, 58, of San Diego, has been a partner in a private firm since 2000, and an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law since 2010. She is a Democrat.

Anita L. Santos was appointed to Contra Costa County Superior Court. Santos, 49, has been a commissioner at that court since 2012. She was a sole practitioner from 2008 to 2012 and a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County from 1997 to 2008. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Barbara Zuniga. She is a Democrat.

Eric S. Geffon, Roberta S. Hayashi and Cynthia C. Lie were appointed to Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Geffon, 44, of Los Altos, has been in private practice at his own firm since 2001. He was a deputy public defender in Santa Clara County from 1996 to 2001. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Thomas Cain. He is a Democrat.

Hayashi, 56, of Los Gatos, has been in private practice, specializing in employment law, since 1982. She was president of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley in 2001 and of the Santa Clara County Bar Association in 1996. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rene Navarro. She is a Democrat.

Lie, 46, of Oakland, has been an assistant federal public defender in San Jose since 2003, and was a deputy public defender in San Diego County from 1995 to 2000. In between, she worked for the City and County of San Francisco and in private practice. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Andrea Bryan. She is registered without party preference.

Gustavo E. Lavayen and Pauline Maxwell were appointed to Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Lavayen, 55, of Solvang, has worked for the Santa Barbara Office of County Counsel since 1990. He was a deputy district attorney in the county from 1985 to 1990. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James Iwasko. He is registered without party preference.

Maxwell, 59, of Santa Barbara, has worked for the Superior Court there since 2006. She worked in private practices from 1997 to 2006, with a year as in-house counsel for Tenet Healthcare from 2001-2002, and taught at the Santa Barbara College of Law from 2007 to 2009. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Denise de Bellefeuille. She is a Democrat.

Heidi K. Whilden was appointed to Monterey County Superior Court. Whilden, 51, has worked for the superior court there since 2006. She was a sole practitioner from 2001 to 2006, in private practice for 3 years before that, and a law clerk for U.S. District Judge James Ideman, in California's Central District, from 1991 to 1996. She was elected in June to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kay T. Kingsley. Her appointment allows her to immediately assume the position she was elected to begin in January 2015. She is a Democrat

Susan L. Greenberg was appointed to San Mateo County Superior Court. Greenberg, 54, of San Carlos, has been a commissioner at that court since 2000. She was in private practice from 1987 to 2000, and a deputy district attorney in San Mateo County from 1984 to 1987. She was elected in June 2014 to fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Beth L. Freeman to Federal Court in the Northern District of California. Her appointment allows her to immediately assume the position she was elected to begin in January 2015. She is a Republican.

Dylan M. Sullivan was appointed to El Dorado County Superior Court. Sullivan, 48, has been a commissioner at that court since 2011. She worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Board of Parole Hearings from 2005 to 2011 and was in private practice before that. She was elected in June to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Daniel Proud. Her appointment allows her to immediately assume the position she was elected to begin in January 2015. She is registered without party preference.

California Superior Court judgeships pay $184,610 a year.

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