Gov. Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his nomination of eight Court of Appeal Justices, including Justice Rashida Adams, to the Second District Court of Appeal.

The Governor also announced his appointment of nine Superior Court Judges, with four in Los Angeles County.

Rashida Adams, of Los Angeles County, has been nominated to serve as presiding justice in the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three. Adams has served as an associate justice for the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three since 2023. Adams served as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2017 to 2023. She served as a Senior Appellate Court attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight from 2008 to 2017. Adams was an attorney at Caldwell Leslie & Proctor from 2005 to 2007. She worked as an attorney at Bernabei & Katz from 2001 to 2005. Adams received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. 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. If confirmed, she will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Lee Edmon, and Adams’s appointment to a term beginning Jan. 4, 2027 will be subject to voter confirmation during the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. Adams is a Democrat. 

Justin Ford, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Ford has served as deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office since 2014. He worked as an associate at Katten Muchin Rosenman from 2011 to 2014. Ford worked as an Associate at O’Melveny & Myers from 2007 to 2011. Ford received a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University. He fills the vacancy created by the death  of Judge William C. Ryan. Ford is a Democrat. 

Wilson Park, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Park has served as an assistant United States attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California since 2012. He served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2010 to 2012. Park worked as an Associate at the Bernheim Law Firm from 2009 to 2010. He was an associate at Schiff Hardin from 2005 to 2009. Park received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James D. Otto. Park is a Democrat. 

Maricela Segura, of Los Angeles County, has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Segura has worked in various roles for the Federal Trade Commission, including as regional director in the Los Angeles office since 2019 and as an attorney since 2008. Segura worked as an Associate at Sidley Austin from 2003 to 2008. She was a law clerk at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 2002 to 2003. Segura received a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Warren M. Kato. Segura is a Democrat.