SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced appointments to fill vacancies across California’s judiciary, naming two new justices to the Courts of Appeal and seven new judges to Superior Courts throughout the state.
According to the governor’s office, Judge Eran Bermudez has served as a judge in Imperial County since 2018, entering the nomination process with more than eight years of judicial experience. Before joining the bench, she served as a compliance officer at the University of California, San Diego. Her responsibilities included ensuring the university complied with external regulations and investigating alleged compliance breaches.
Unlike Judge Bermudez, a registered Democrat, Superior Court Judge Deborah Servino is unaffiliated with any political party in California. According to the governor’s office, both she and Judge Bermudiz earned Juris Doctor degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She served as a deputy attorney general from 1997 until 2006, when she became a judge in Orange County. Judge Servino is replacing Thomas M. Goethals, while Judge Bermudez is replacing Richard D. Huffman.
Judge Bermudez and Judge Servino have both been appointed to the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 1 and Division 3, respectively. Division 1 is based in San Diego, and Division 3 is based in Santa Ana. They must be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments before taking their seats on the Courts of Appeal.
Some of the people on the commission whose confirmation is required are Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero and Attorney General Rob Bonta. According to the Judicial Branch of California’s website, Chief Justice Guerrero worked for 15 years in private practice before becoming the first Latina justice appointed to the California Supreme Court.
In contrast to some of Chief Justice Guerrero’s credentials, Bonta worked as deputy city attorney for the City and County of San Francisco before being appointed the 34th attorney general of California. The California Department of Justice website also states that, like Guerrero, he has made California history as the first Filipino American to hold the office.
This committee of firsts will decide whether the new judges Newsom has appointed can live up to the legacy of the current Courts of Appeal. After the judges have been confirmed, they will be voted on by the citizens of California. Assuming they win, they will remain on the court for 12 years.
Each of the seven judges appointed to the Superior Courts of California will, in contrast, take their places immediately in their respective courts. The governor’s office has also provided details about the nominees’ previous careers.
Some, like Judge Gary Tokumori and Judge Michael Tenor, are credited with experience as associates in high-profile law firms. Judge Tokumori worked at Neumiller & Beardslee from 2007 to 2016 before being appointed to the Superior Court of San Joaquin County.
Others, like Judge Tokumori’s fellow Los Angeles County appointee Judge Erin Dixon and San Diego County appointee Judge Miguel A. Peñalosa Jr., have experience in the Public Defender’s Office.
The seven judges also represent a mix of political affiliations. Judge Tiffany Poncy, appointed to the Orange County Superior Court, and Judge Maren Clouse, appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, are both unaffiliated. Judge Poncy was deputy county counsel for Los Angeles County, a position that provides legal services to the county, before moving to Orange County in 2019. Judge Clouse, meanwhile, has served as chief deputy city attorney in the San Jose City Attorney’s Office since 2016.
Finally, Judge Mary Procaccio-Flowers was appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court. She has held various roles at Santa Clara University School of Law and has served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court since 2025.
Each of the justices took unique paths to this role, but now each has a similar purpose: to uphold the judicial code of California to the best of their abilities. How successful they will be in that important goal remains to be seen.
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