Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of 21 California superior court judges, which include: Two in Alameda County; one in Humboldt County; one in Inyo County; one in Kern County; 10 in Los Angeles County; one in Riverside County; one in San Bernardino County; one in San Diego County; one in Solano County; one in Trinity County; and one in Tulare County.
Alameda County Superior Court
Richard L. Seabolt, 68, of Piedmont, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Seabolt has been a partner at Duane Morris LLP since 2006. He was a partner at Hancock, Rothert and Bunshoft from 1982 to 2005, where he was an associate from 1975 to 1981. Seabolt earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Alice Vilardi. Seabolt is a Democrat.
Jenna M. Whitman, 45, of Oakland, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court. Whitman has served as a court appellate attorney at the First District Court of Appeal since 2017. She served as a research attorney at the Alameda County Superior Court from 2007 to 2017. Whitman was an associate at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann and Bernstein LLP from 2005 to 2007 and at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin from 2001 to 2004. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge George C. Hernandez, Jr. Whitman is a Democrat.
Humboldt County Superior Court
Timothy A. Canning, 59, of Arcata, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Humboldt County Superior Court. Canning has served as a commissioner at the Humboldt County Superior Court since 2017, where he was a research attorney from 2016 to 2017. He was a sole practitioner from 1999 to 2015 and an associate at the Sapiro Law Firm from 1990 to 1999. Canning earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John T. Feeney. Canning is a Democrat.
Inyo County Superior Court
Stephen M. Place, 52, of Bishop, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Inyo County Superior Court. Place has been a sole practitioner since 2013. He was a partner at Hardy and Place from 2006 to 2013 and at Place and Christensen from 2004 to 2006. Place was a sole practitioner from 2002 to 2004 and an associate at the Law Office of Peter E. Tracy from 1996 to 2001. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Montana School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Olaf College. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Dean T. Stout. Place is registered Green Party.
Kern County Superior Court
Gregory A. Pulskamp, 49, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Kern County Superior Court. Pulskamp has served as a supervising deputy district attorney at the Kern County District Attorney’s Office since 2014, where he has served as a deputy district attorney since 1996. He was an associate at Clifford and Brown from 1993 to 1996. Pulskamp earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William D. Palmer. He is the first American-Muslim judge ever appointed to the Kern County Superior Court. Pulskamp is registered without party preference.
Los Angeles County Superior Court
Wendy W. Y. Chang, 47, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Chang has been a partner at Hinshaw and Culbertson LLP since 2008, where she was a senior associate from 2004 to 2008. She was a senior associate at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips LLP from 2003 to 2004 and an associate at Baker, Keener and Nahra from 1998 to 2003. Chang was an associate at Selman Breitman LLP from 1997 to 1998 and at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman and Dicker LLP from 1996 to 1997. Chang earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Frank J. Johnson. Chang is a Democrat.
William A. Crowfoot, 61, of Pasadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Crowfoot has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California since 2003. He was a member of the Pasadena City Council from 1993 to 2001 and a senior associate at Paul Hastings LLP from 1997 to 2001, where he was an associate and of counsel from 1987 to 1995. Crowfoot was a bilingual education teacher at Blair High School from 1995 to 1997 and an attorney at the Inter-American Development Bank from 1981 to 1987. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College. He fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Anne H. Egerton to the Court of Appeal. Crowfoot is a Democrat.
Christopher W. Dybwad, 43, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Dybwad has been chief deputy federal public defender in the Federal Public Defender's Office, Central District of California since 2014, where he has served in several positions since 2005, including supervising deputy federal public defender and deputy federal public defender. He was an associate at Debevoise and Plimpton from 2004 to 2005 and 2001 to 2003 and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Richard A. Paez at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 2003 to 2004. Dybwad earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College. He fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge Ross M. Klein. Dybwad is a Democrat.
Altus W. Hudson, 52, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Hudson has been a sole practitioner since 2011. He was a partner and attorney at Kidd and Hudson from 1998 to 2011. Hudson served as a deputy city attorney at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office from 1995 to 1998. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Long Beach. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David S. Wesley. Hudson is a Democrat.
Michelle C. Kim, 44, of South Pasadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Kim has served as a deputy alternate public defender at the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office since 2005. She served as a deputy public defender in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 2003 to 2005. Kim earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. She fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on June 26, 2017. Kim is a Democrat.
Terrance T. Lewis, 60, of Altadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Lewis has served as a commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2014. He served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 1988 to 2014 and was a law clerk at the Law Office of Levin and Margolin from 1986 to 1987. Lewis earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Karen J. Nudell. Lewis is a Democrat.
Debra L. Losnick, 58, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Losnick has served as a commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 1996, where she served as a juvenile court referee from 1990 to 1996. She was a contract county counsel at the Los Angeles Office of County Counsel from 1986 to 1990 and an associate at Nossaman, Gunther, Knox and Elliott in 1986. Losnick earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on December 14, 2017. Losnick is a Democrat.
Jean M. Nelson, 54, of Altadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Nelson has been a partner at Scheper Kim and Harris LLP since 2008. She served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California from 1995 to 2006 and was an associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown and Enersen LLP from 1992 to 1995. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Laughlin E. Waters at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 1990 to 1992. Nelson earned a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lesley C. Green. Nelson is a Democrat.
Jonathan L. Rosenbloom, 54, of Beverly Hills, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Rosenbloom has been a sole practitioner since 2009. He was a partner at Rosenbloom and Rosenbloom from 1997 to 2009. Rosenbloom was an associate at Anker, Hymes and Schreiber from 1992 to 1997, at Maiden, Rosenbloom, Wintroub, Fridkis and Resser from 1990 to 1992 and at Berman, Blanchard, Mausner and Kindem from 1989 to 1990. Rosenbloom earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Leland H. Tipton. Rosenbloom is a Democrat.
Helen Zukin, 60, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Zukin has been a partner at Kiesel Law LLP since 2010, where she was of counsel from 2006 to 2010. She was a sole practitioner from 1995 to 2006 and a partner at Simke, Chodos, Silberfeld and Anteau, Inc. from 1992 to 1995, where she was an associate from 1990 to 1992. Zukin was an associate at Greene, O’Reilly, Agnew and Broillet from 1985 to 1990. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She fills the vacancy created by the conversion of a court commissioner position on December 14, 2017. Zukin is a Democrat.
Riverside County Superior Court
Dorothy McLaughlin, 45, of Riverside, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court. McLaughlin has been of counsel at Best, Best and Krieger since 2015. She served as a career law clerk to the Honorable Sheri Pym, U.S. Magistrate Judge at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 2012 to 2015. McLaughlin was deputy chief of the Riverside Branch Office for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California from 2011 to 2012, where she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2007 to 2012. She was an associate at Keker and Van Nest LLP from 2006 to 2007 and at Cooley Godward LLP from 2004 to 2005. McLaughlin served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald L. Gilman at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit from 2003 to 2004 and for the Honorable Dana Fabe at the Alaska Supreme Court from 2002 to 2003. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University. She fills the vacancy of a new position created on September 18, 2017. McLaughlin is a Democrat.
San Bernardino County Superior Court
Stephanie E. Thornton-Harris, 54, of Pasadena, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. Thornton-Harris has served as a deputy federal public defender in the Federal Public Defender's Office, Central District of California since 2012. She served as a bench officer at the San Bernardino County Superior Court from 2007 to 2011, where she was a juvenile hearing officer from 1999 to 2001. Thornton-Harris served as a judge pro tem at the San Bernardino County Superior Court and the Office of Administrative Hearings from 2003 to 2007 and was an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings from 2001 to 2002. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Northwestern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University. She fills the vacancy of a new position created on September 18, 2017. Thornton-Harris is a Democrat.
San Diego County Superior Court
William Y. Wood, 58, of Carlsbad, has been appointed to a judgeship in the San Diego County Superior Court. Wood has served as a commissioner at the San Diego County Superior Court since 2009. He served as a deputy district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office from 1990 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2008 and was cross-designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California from 2003 to 2006. Wood served as a U.S. foreign service officer at the U.S. Department of State from 1998 to 2000. Wood earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona College of Law, a Master of Science degree from Trinity University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona. He fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Patricia Guerrero to the Court of Appeal. Wood is a Democrat.
Solano County Superior Court
Shauna L. Chastain, 48, of Fairfield, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Solano County Superior Court. Chastain has been a sole practitioner since 2007. She was an associate at Mattice Law Offices from 1998 to 2007 and at the Law Offices of Lynne Yates-Carter from 1996 to 1998. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Santa Clara University. Chastain is a certified family law specialist. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Garry T. Ichikawa. Chastain is a Democrat.
Trinity County Superior Court
Eric L. Heryford, 54, of Weaverville, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Trinity County Superior Court. Heryford has served as district attorney of Trinity County since 2014. He served as a deputy district attorney in the Trinity County District Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2014 and from 1996 to 2002. Heryford was an environmental circuit prosecutor at the California District Attorneys Association from 2002 to 2006 and a sole practitioner from 1994 to 1996. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Chico. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Elizabeth W. Johnson. Heryford is a Democrat.
Tulare County Superior Court
Kerri M. Lopez, 46, of Visalia, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Tulare County Superior Court. Lopez has served as an assistant district attorney at the Tulare County District Attorney's Office since 2016, where she has served in several positions since 1999, including supervising deputy district attorney and deputy district attorney. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the San Joaquin College of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Fresno. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James W. Hollman. Lopez is a Republican.
The compensation for each of these positions is $200,042.
