Corey G. Lee

Justice Corey G. Lee is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Two.  After the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation rated her “exceptionally well qualified,” Justice Lee was nominated for the position by Governor Gavin Newsom in August 2025.  In November 2025, she was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. 

Previously, Justice Lee served as Judge of the San Bernardino County Superior Court, a position to which she was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. in 2015.  During her 10 years as a superior court judge, she presided over numerous hearings and jury trials involving misdemeanor and felony criminal cases, limited and unlimited civil cases, juvenile delinquency matters, and mental health/drug treatment courts.  She also served as Judge and Presiding Judge in the Appellate Division of the San Bernardino County Superior Court.  While on the trial court, Justice Lee was appointed to serve as Pro Tem Justice in Division Five of the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles.  In addition, since 2019, she has been a member of Governor Newsom’s Regional Judicial Selection Advisory Committee (JSAC) for the Inland Empire and currently serves as its Chair.

Before her judicial career, Justice Lee served as a federal and state prosecutor.  As an Assistant U.S. Attorney and eventually Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Riverside Branch, she focused on prosecuting – from investigation and indictment to trial and appeal – crimes involving racketeering activity by organized gangs, drug conspiracies, and fraud occurring in the Inland Empire.  As a Deputy District Attorney, she served both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties prosecuting various misdemeanor and felony crimes including those involving violence against family, domestic partners, and children.  She began her legal career as a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review, where she reviewed cases and wrote legal memos and decisions involving asylum, deportation, and cancellation of removal proceedings for 26 U.S. Immigration Judges in Los Angeles.

Prior to her legal career, Justice Lee held various civil service positions in Washington, D.C., including those at the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Health Care Financing Administration.  She also worked, interned, and volunteered at various public agencies such as the New York Office of the Public Advocate Mark Green, Sanctuary for Families in Bronx, The Lighthouse in Philadelphia, and Families of Murder Victims within the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Homicide Unit.

Justice Lee earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Pennsylvania, Master of Science degree in Social Administration from Columbia University School of Social Work, and Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. 

After immigrating to the U.S. from South Korea at the age of nine, Justice Lee grew up primarily in Santa Fe Springs, a city in southeast Los Angeles County.  She became a naturalized U.S. citizen during her senior year in college.  Her husband has been a dedicated public school teacher in Riverside County for over 25 years.  They enjoy practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu together and spending time with their large canine creatures.