Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom May 29 announced the following appointment.
Susan Friedman, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the Board of Behavioral Sciences, where she has served since 2020. Friedman was a network news producer for NBC News from 1982 to 2008. She was a reporter and producer for the local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) from 1977 to 1982. Friedman was a network news producer for NBC News from 1968 to 1977. She is a founding member of the Alliance for Children’s Rights board of directors and vice chair and commissioner of the Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Friedman is a Democrat.
Gov. Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his nomination of four Court of Appeal Justices, in Los Angeles, Judge Nicholas Daum was appointed to the Second District Court of Appeal.
The Governor also announced his appointment of eleven Superior Court Judges:with four in Los Angeles County.
Second District Court of Appeal, Division Four
Nicholas Daum, of Los Angeles County, has been nominated to serve as an associate justice in the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Four. Daum has served as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2022. He was an associate and partner at Kendall Brill & Kelly from 2009 to 2022. He was an associate at Susman Godfrey from 2004 to 2009. Daum received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Audrey B. Collins. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Senior Presiding Justice Francis Rothschild. Daum is a Democrat.
Los Angeles Superior Court
David Perkiss, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Perkiss has served as a supervising research attorney at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2019. He served as an Appellate Court attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal, Division One from 2018 to 2019. He served in various roles at the Los Angeles County Superior Court including as supervising research attorney in 2018, as a research attorney from 2016 to 2018, and as a law clerk from 2014 to 2016. He was an Aassociate at Lyon Law from 2013 to 2014. Perkiss received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Robert S. Wada. Perkiss is a Democrat.
Mahin Salehi, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Salehi has served as a commissioner at the Los Angeles County Superior Court since 2024. She served as a deputy alternate public defender at the Los Angeles Alternate Public Defender’s Office from 2010 to 2024. She was a staff attorney at the Center for Health Care Rights from 2008 to 2010 and at the Disability Rights Legal Center at Loyola Law School from 2007 to 2008. She served as a deputy public defender at the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office from 2004 to 2007. Salehi received a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Shellie L. Samuels. Salehi is a Democrat.
Adam Romero, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Romero has served as the chief deputy director of the California Department of Industrial Relations since 2025. He served as a deputy director of the California Civil Rights Department from 2020 to 2025. Romero was an adjunct professor and Williams Institute Legal Scholarship Director and Senior Counsel at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law from 2014 to 2020. He was a senior associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr from 2010 to 2014. Romero served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2010 and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2008 to 2009. Romero received a Juris Doctor Degree from Yale Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gail Killefer. Romero is a Democrat.
Jennifer Salzman Romano, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Romano has been a partner at Crowell & Moring since 2009. She held various roles at Folger Levin & Kahn including as a partner from 2006 to 2009 and as an Associate from 1998 to 2005. Romano served as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California from 1997 to 1998. Romano received a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge Michael E. Pastor. Romano is a Democrat.