Special to the Vanguard
Sacramento, CA – Governor Newsom appointed Alissa Bjerkhoel, of San Diego County, to serve as a judge in the Nevada County Superior Court.
Bjerkhoel has been Litigation Coordinator for the California Innocence Project at the California Western School of Law since 2016 and was a Staff Attorney there from 2008 to 2016.
She has served as a Panel Attorney for the Sixth District Appellate Program since 2012 and for Appellate Defenders Inc. since 2010.
She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the California Western School of Law.
“Alissa Bjerkhoel has spent her career pursuing truth and justice for the wrongly convicted,” said Michael Semanchik, Executive Director of The Innocence Center. “Her dedication to justice, intellect, and temperament could not be better suited for a position on the bench. I am thrilled Governor Newsom appointed her to the role. She will be deeply missed in the innocence community.”
Bjerkhoel was born and raised in Nevada County.
She will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Candace S. Heidelberger, effective November 27, 2023.
