Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Jose S. Franco and Nona L. Klippen to judgeships in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Franco, 42, of San Jose, has served as supervisor of the Juvenile Justice Unit at the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office since 2011, where he has served as a deputy public defender since 2000. He was an adjunct lecturer at the San Jose State University Department of Justice Studies from 2007 to 2012. Franco earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James P. Kleinberg. Franco is a Democrat.

Klippen, 59, of San Jose, has served as an assistant public defender in the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office since 2004, where she has served in several positions since 1989, including acting assistant public defender, supervising attorney of the Felony Trial Team and the Research Division and co-supervising attorney of the Juvenile Division. Klippen was a law clerk in the Law Offices of Gerald C. Sterns from 1987 to 1989. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College. Klippen fills the vacancy created by the disability retirement of Judge Kurt E. Kumli. She is a Democrat.

The compensation for each of these positions is $189,041.