Associate Justice

Corey G. Lee

Rocha, Antonio — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:52:53 +0000

Corey G. Lee Rocha, Antonio Tue, 02/24/2026 - 08:52

Fourth District, Div. Two

Division

Division Two

Start Date

Tue, 11/18/2025 - 12:00

Biography

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.

Person Type

Justice

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Justice_G.Corey_Lee

Job Title

Associate Justice

Arlan L. Harrell

Cordova, Mariana — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 20:08:01 +0000

Arlan L. Harrell Cordova, Mariana Tue, 11/18/2025 - 12:08

Fifth District Court of Appeal

Start Date

Mon, 11/17/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Harrell was born and raised in Southern California. He attended the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where he met and married his wife, Linda. He graduated from UCR in 1987 with a degree in Philosophy-Law & Society and moved his young family north to the University of California, Davis, where he entered the King Hall School of Law. Justice Harrell next moved his growing family to the Central Valley where he completed his final semester of law school serving as a judicial extern with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard T. Ford (ret.) in Fresno before graduating from King Hall in 1990.

He began his legal career as an associate with the Fresno law firm of Lang, Richert & Patch, where he represented creditors, trustees, and debtors in bankruptcy litigation. Justice Harrell served as a Deputy District Attorney in Fresno County from February 1994 through December 2003, ending his prosecutorial career as a Senior Deputy District Attorney. He joined the Fresno Superior Court as a Court Commissioner selected by the judges of that court in December 2003. As a Commissioner, Justice Harrell handled dedicated traffic, misdemeanor, and felony domestic violence calendars before becoming a judge.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Justice Harrell as a judge of the Fresno Superior Court in May 2006. Justice Harrell spent 19-years as a trial court judge, serving his last 16-years in a general trial department presiding over jury trials. During his trial court career, he served a two-year term as the Assistant Presiding Judge (2018-2020) before being elected to and serving a two-year term as the Presiding Judge of the Fresno Superior Court (2020-2022). He served as a member of the Fresno Superior Court’s Executive Committee for 16 years, 8 consecutive 2-year terms, and on various court administrative committees during his tenure with the trial court. He twice served as faculty for the California Judicial Education Resource Center’s Domestic Violence Institute.

Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Justice Harrell for the position of associate justice of the Fifth Appellate District on August 5, 2025. His nomination was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on November 17, 2025.

Justice Harrell and Linda are proud parents, grandparents, and in-laws.

Person Type

Justice

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Arlan L. Harrell

Job Title

Associate Justice

Matthew Scherb

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:46:22 +0000

Matthew Scherb Geffen-Shields… Mon, 11/17/2025 - 12:46

Second District Court of Appeal

Division

Division Eight

Start Date

Mon, 11/17/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Matthew A. Scherb is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight. Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Justice Scherb to this position on August 7, 2025, and the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed that nomination on November 17, 2025.

Justice Scherb holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law.

Following law school, Justice Scherb clerked for the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. From 2005-2011, he practiced litigation at the San Francisco office of Winston & Strawn LLP, focusing on copyright and trademark matters. He then served, from 2011-2017, as a senior and lead appellate court attorney for Justice Kathleen M. Banke of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division One. Justice Scherb then returned to practice, joining, from 2017-2021, the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney and its section of lawyers devoted to civil appeals and writs. During this time, Justice Scherb volunteered at Public Counsel’s Appellate Clinic for Self-Represented Litigants, which helps those in need navigate the appellate process at the Second District. For the five years before joining the Second District’s bench, Justice Scherb, from 2021-2025, served as a Chambers Attorney for the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins of the Supreme Court of California at his chambers in Los Angeles. Justice Scherb previously served as a member of the California Lawyers Association Committee on Appellate Courts and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Appellate Courts Section Executive Committee.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

Matthew Scherb

Job Title

Associate Justice

Mark K. Hanasono

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 22:10:25 +0000

Mark K. Hanasono Geffen-Shields… Tue, 06/24/2025 - 15:10

Division

Division Three

Start Date

Tue, 06/24/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Mark Hanasono is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three. In May 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom nominated him for the Court of Appeal. In June 2025, the Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed Justice Hanasono, after receiving an “exceptionally well qualified” rating from the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission.

Justice Hanasono received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating summa cum laude with membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

After graduating from law school, Justice Hanasono worked as a judicial law clerk in the District of Columbia Superior Court. From 2000 to 2004, he was an attorney for the Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender, representing indigent adult and juvenile clients. In 2004, Justice Hanasono transferred to the Office of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender, where he represented indigent clients in all felony cases, including capital murder. He also served as a Team Leader, supervising a team of felony attorneys assigned to the Central District.

In 2013, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed Justice Hanasono to the Los Angeles Superior Court, where he served in the Criminal Division for nearly twelve years. From 2018 to 2019, Justice Hanasono was the Assistant Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division, Limited Jurisdiction Courts. From 2020 to 2022, he was the Assistant Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division.

Justice Hanasono has taught as a lecturer in law at UCLA School of Law. He has served on the faculty of the Center for Judicial Education and Research and the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judicial Education Seminars program and presented for the University of California’s Continuing Education of the Bar. Justice Hanasono has published articles in the UC Law Constitutional Law Quarterly, the State Bar’s Criminal Law Journal, and Berkeley Law’s Asian American Law Journal.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

J_Hanasono_363

Job Title

Associate Justice

Armen Tamzarian

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:51:14 +0000

Armen Tamzarian Geffen-Shields… Tue, 06/24/2025 - 13:51

Division

Division Four

Start Date

Tue, 06/24/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Armen Tamzarian was confirmed as an associate justice by the Commission on Judicial Appointments in June 2025. After being nominated for the position by Governor Gavin Newsom, he was rated as “exceptionally well qualified” by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

Justice Tamzarian began his legal career as a research attorney at the Los Angeles Superior Court. He then worked at the law firm of Case, Knowlson, Jordan & Wright LLP, first as an associate and then as a partner. His practice focused on business, real estate, employment, and professional malpractice litigation, as well as constitutional law, in state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Justice Tamzarian also worked as a senior appellate court attorney and then as lead attorney for the Honorable Patti Kitching in the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 3.

In December 2013, he was appointed as a judge at the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Edmund G. Brown. There, he had family law, civil trial, and civil independent calendar assignments. He presided over 100 jury and non-jury trials.

Justice Tamzarian received a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, double majoring in business and finance and history. He received a JD from Southwestern Law School, where he received a full-tuition merit scholarship.

Justice Tamzarian is married and has one adult child.

Person Type

Justice

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J_Tamzarian_350

Job Title

Associate Justice

Charles A. Smiley

Hung, Karmann — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 16:54:59 +0000

Charles A. Smiley Hung, Karmann Thu, 03/13/2025 - 09:54

Division

Division One

Start Date

Thu, 03/13/2025 - 12:00

Biography

After Governor Gavin Newsom’s nomination, the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Charles A. Smiley to the position of Associate Justice on February 14, 2025.

Before joining the First District Court of Appeal, Justice Smiley was a judicial officer on the Alameda County Superior Court for 17 years. He started in 2007 as a court commissioner and was appointed superior court judge by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., in 2012. During his work on that court, he served as its presiding judge, assistant presiding judge, and as a supervising judge of the juvenile courts and of the collaborative, treatment and diversion courts.

Justice Smiley has been appointed to statewide committees including the Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Collaborative Justice Courts where he also leads its subcommittee on Racial Justice, Equity and Inclusion as a co-chair. He also participated on the Power of Democracy Steering Committee, the Commission on the Future of the Courts, and as a faculty for judicial officer training on bias and ethics. Justice Smiley has taught trial advocacy skill courses at UC Law San Francisco and at Berkeley Law.

Justice Smiley began his legal career as an attorney in the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender. In addition to his role as a trial lawyer, he worked in the office’s appellate unit and supervised one of its branch offices.

Justice Smiley has received awards for his work from the Alameda County Bar Association, the California Association of Black Lawyers, the Charles Houston Bar Association, and the Tribal Justice Collaborative. He has also worked with numerous organizations and programs that support youth, teach civics, and encourage the pursuit of higher education.

Justice Smiley is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and UC Law San Francisco.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

UTF-8GW_250310_0020-Smiley_8x10

Job Title

Associate Justice

Nathan Scott

Acharya, Kiranmayi — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:26:44 +0000

Nathan Scott Acharya, Kiranmayi Wed, 02/19/2025 - 14:26

Fourth District, Div. Three

Division

Division Three

Start Date

Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Nate Scott brings 12 years of trial court experience, including 9 years on the civil panel and 3 years on the family law panel of the Orange County Superior Court. For 4 years, he was also assigned to hear election cases. For 3 years, he was also Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division.

As a civil trial judge, Justice Scott was named Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates–OC chapter, the OC Trial Lawyers Association, and the OC Hispanic Bar Association.

Elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom and rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the JNE Commission, Justice Scott proudly belongs to the California Latino Judges Association, the Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers, and the Hispanic Bar Association. He serves regularly on the Association of Business Trial Lawyers–OC’s judicial advisory council and board of governors. He co-chairs the Orange County Bar Association’s Civility Task Force and supports the Unity Bar of Orange County.

Grateful for the support of so many, Justice Scott pays it forward through mentorship and community outreach. He has worked alongside Governor Newsom’s judicial mentoring program, the Commission on Judicial Performance, the California Latino Judges Association, the OC Hispanic Bar Association, ABTL–OC Young Lawyers Division, Elizabeth G. Macias Legal Studies Academy at Santa Ana High School, OCBA Bridging the Gap program, Constitutional Rights Foundation–OC, NAACP–Long Beach, Judges in the Classroom, and UCI’s Saturday Academy of Law.

Before Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Superior Court, Justice Scott was a Court of Appeal research attorney. He began his career at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Cox Castle Nicholson LLP. He attended Long Beach public schools and graduated from Long Beach City College, UCLA summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School.

Justice Scott and his wife, a librarian, have three wonderful children.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

justice-nate-scott

Job Title

Associate Justice

Anne Richardson

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 01:35:07 +0000

Anne Richardson Geffen-Shields… Mon, 11/25/2024 - 17:35

Second District Court of Appeal

Division

Division Two

Start Date

Mon, 11/25/2024 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Anne Richardson was nominated to serve on the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Two by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2024. She was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments after receiving an “exceptionally well qualified” rating by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

Justice Richardson received her B.A. in Philosophy from Swarthmore College. She received her J.D. with Distinction from Stanford Law School, where she was an editor on the Stanford Law Review. She began her legal career by clerking for the late Mariana R. Pfaelzer, District Judge for the Central District of California. After her clerkship, she worked as a fellow, associate, and ultimately partner at Hadsell Stormer Keeny Richardson & Renick, LLP, and its predecessors, for 24 years. In that capacity, she litigated civil rights, human rights, and employment cases both at the trial level and in the state and federal courts of appeal. She then worked as a Directing Attorney at Public Counsel, where she litigated complex matters involving civil rights and consumer issues for four years before her appointment to the bench.

She was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to the Los Angeles Superior Court in October 2018. She served there for 6 years, presiding over a family law home court and an independent calendar civil courtroom. She actively served on many committees during her time there, including Ethics, Rules Committee, Domestic Violence, and Mentorship. She also served as a Justice pro tem on the Second Appellate District, Division Three for three months.

Justice Richardson has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including two California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) awards, a Pro Bono award by the ACLU of Southern California, and an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Justice Richardson has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School and the University of California, Irvine, in the areas of Civil Rights and Appellate Advocacy.

Over the course of her career, Justice Richardson has taught at many seminars, conferences and in judicial education. She has also written articles, book chapters, and book reviews. She currently is a member of the California Judges Association, the ABA, the National Association of Women Judges, and the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Section of the LA County Bar Association.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

2DCA Justice Ann Richardson

Job Title

Associate Justice

Michelle C. Kim

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:59:09 +0000

Michelle C. Kim Geffen-Shields… Mon, 11/25/2024 - 16:59

Second District Court of Appeal

Division

Division One

Start Date

Mon, 11/25/2024 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Michelle C. Kim was nominated to serve on the Second District Court of Appeal, Division One by Governor Gavin Newsom. She was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments after receiving an "exceptionally well qualified" rating by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation.

Justice Kim was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. She served as Assistant Supervising Judge in limited jurisdiction for the Criminal Division and Site Judge at several courthouses. She also presided over an unlimited civil calendar at the Spring Street Courthouse and an unlimited civil independent calendar court at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, both in downtown Los Angeles.

Justice Kim received her B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University. She received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law.

After law school, Justice Kim served as a Deputy Public Defender and then Deputy Alternate Public Defender for Los Angeles County. She tried numerous felony jury trial cases to verdict as sole trial counsel representing indigent clients. Just prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as a departmental Head Deputy at the Alternate Public Defender’s Office.

Justice Kim is currently Vice Chair of the Los Angeles Judicial Selection Advisory Committee (LA JSAC) and is active in local bar associations and community organizations, including the Executive Committee of the LACBA Litigation Section.

Justice Kim was honored with the 2025 Judicial Service Award from the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA) for her service to the bar and bench. Justice Kim is a Girl Scout Gold Awardee.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

2DCA Justice Michelle C. Kim

Job Title

Associate Justice

Justice Halim Dhanidina

Geffen-Shields, Sharon — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 23:24:04 +0000

Justice Halim Dhanidina Geffen-Shields… Mon, 07/15/2024 - 16:24

Second District Court of Appeal

Division

Division Three

Start Date

Thu, 08/23/2018 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Dhanidina was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in nearby Evanston where he attended public school. In 1994, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Pomona College in Claremont, California and earned his Juris Doctorate degree in 1997 from UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, California.

Beginning in 1998, as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County, Justice Dhanidina prosecuted serious felony cases for the elite Hardcore Gang and Major Crimes divisions. In 2012, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed him to serve as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he presided over 72 jury trials in the Compton and Long Beach courthouses. In 2018, Governor Brown, Jr. appointed Justice Dhanidina to Division Three of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District where he had been a justice pro tempore for nearly a year, reviewing over 100 appeals. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him on August 23, 2018.

Justice Dhanidina is a devoted teacher and mentor and has worked as an adjunct professor at the Chapman University Fowler School of Law, Western State Law School, Whittier Law School and the Glendale University College of Law, where he has taught criminal trial advocacy, civil trial advocacy, criminal procedure, professional responsibility, and California criminal law. He has also taught fellow judges statewide on topics including felony sentencing, case management and domestic violence, while also serving on the faculty for the B.E. Witkin Judicial College for new judicial officers.

Justice Dhanidina serves on the boards of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Muslim-Jewish NewGround. He has been recognized for his service and achievements, having received awards from the California State Assembly, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association, UCLA School of Law, South Asian Network, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Person Type

Justice

Portrait

P_JusticeDhanidina_2019_21_Rt_pp1RS

Retirement Date

Thu, 04/01/2021 - 12:00

Job Title

Associate Justice