Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Francis B. Bennett II, Joel L. Lofton, Thomas D. Long and David A. Rosen to judgeships in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Bennett, 50, of Los Angeles, has served as a deputy alternate public defender at the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office since 1995. He served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 1995 and was an attorney at the Law Offices of Francis B. Bennett from 1990 to 1994. Bennett earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego, School of Law and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patricia M. Schnegg. Bennett is a Republican.

Lofton, 44, of La Crescenta-Montrose, has served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office since 2005. He has been a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps since 2011, where he has served as an officer since 2009. Lofton served as a deputy public defender at the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office from 2004 to 2005 and was an attorney at the African Community Resource Center from 2003 to 2004. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Riverside. Lofton fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rand S. Rubin. He is registered without party preference.

Long, 58, of Rancho Palos Verdes, has been a partner at Nossaman LLP since 1991, where he was an associate from 1989 to 1991. He was a member of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council from 2003 to 2011, serving as mayor in 2007 and 2011. Long was an associate at Heller, Ehrman, White and McAuliffe from 1985 to 1989, at Youngman, Hungate and Leopold from 1983 to 1985 and at Hufstedler, Miller, Carlson and Beardsley from 1982 to 1983. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronald H. Rose. Long is a Democrat.

Rosen, 59, of Encino, has been a partner at Rose, Klein and Marias LLP since 1988, where he was an associate from 1981 to 1987. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Rosen fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Patrick J. Hegarty. He is a Democrat. 

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