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.

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Matthew Scherb

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Madeleine I. Flier

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Madeleine I. Flier JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:46

Division

Start Date

Thu, 09/25/2003 - 12:00

Biography

Madeleine I. Flier is a former Associate Justice for Division Eight. She served in this position from September 25, 2003, until February 28, 2018.

Madeleine was born in New York, New York.

In terms of her education, Madeleine obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of San Fernando in 1968. She also studied at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Westwood, California. She was admitted to the State Bar in the same year she graduated, 1968.

Madeleine has extensive judicial experience. She served as an Associate Justice for the California Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District, Division 8. Her tenure in this role lasted from September 25, 2003, to February 28, 2018, after being appointed by Governor Gray Davis.

Before this, she was a Judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1980 to 2003. She was appointed to this position by Governor Jerry Brown Jr. Prior to her role in the Superior Court, she was a Judge for the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1977 to 1980, also appointed by Governor Jerry Brown Jr.

In addition to her judicial roles, Madeleine has a professional background in law. She was an Assistant City Attorney for Los Angeles County from 1975 to 1977. She also served as Legal Counsel for the Board of Administration of the Department of Water and Power's Retirement Disability and Death Benefit Insurance Plan in Los Angeles from 1971 to 1974. Earlier in her career, she was a Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles County from 1968 to 1975.

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Retirement Date

Wed, 02/28/2018 - 12:00

Job Title

Candace D. Cooper

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Candace D. Cooper JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:46

Division

Start Date

Wed, 11/21/2001 - 12:00

Biography

Candace D. Cooper was born on November 23, 1948, in Los Angeles, California.

In terms of her education, she completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Southern California in 1970. She then went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1973. She was admitted to the State Bar on January 9, 1974.

Cooper has an extensive judicial experience. She served as the Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8 from November 21, 2001, to December 31, 2008. She was appointed to this position by Governor Gray Davis. Prior to this, she was an Associate Justice at the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 2 from November 9, 1999, to November 21, 2001.

Before her time in the appellate court, she served as a Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court from October 13, 1987, to November 9, 1999. She was appointed to this position by Governor George Deukmejian. Her judicial career began as a Judge in the Los Angeles Municipal Court, a position she held from 1980 to 1987. She was appointed to this role by Governor Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr.

In addition to her judicial experience, Cooper also has a professional background in law practice. She worked as an Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from 1974 to 1980.

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Retirement Date

Wed, 12/31/2008 - 12:00

Job Title

Presiding Justice

Paul Boland

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Paul Boland JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:46

Division

Start Date

Wed, 11/21/2001 - 12:00

Biography

Paul Boland was born on January 25, 1942, in Los Angeles, California, and passed away in the same city on September 5, 2007.

In terms of his education, Boland earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles in 1963. He then went on to receive a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Law Center in 1966, followed by a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1967. He was admitted to the State Bar on June 27, 1967. In 2007, he was honored with the Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award.

Boland's judicial career began when he was appointed as a Judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., a position he held from April 6, 1981, to November 21, 2001. He was then appointed as an Associate Justice for the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8 by Governor Gray Davis. He served in this role from November 21, 2001, until his death on September 5, 2007.

Before his judicial appointments, Boland had a rich professional background. He worked as a Law Clerk for the United States District Court in Los Angeles in 1968. From 1968 to 1970, he served as a Staff Attorney and Deputy Director of Litigation at the Western Center on Law and Poverty in Los Angeles. He then moved on to the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, where he was a Professor of Law, Associate Dean, and Director of Clinical Legal Education from 1970 to 1981.

Boland was married to United States District Judge Margaret Morrow, and they had a son named Patrick Morrow Boland. His passing was mourned by his colleagues at the Second District Court of Appeal, who remembered him as a warm, insightful individual with great legal and personal skills.

During his career, Boland authored hundreds of opinions and directed the court’s Judicial Externship Program, which received a statewide award for judicial innovation and excellence. He also supervised the design and construction of the Children’s Court, the nation’s first courthouse built to hear cases involving abused and neglected children.

Boland received numerous awards throughout his career, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association Outstanding Jurist Award and the California Trial Lawyers Jurist of the Year. He also served on the Board of Regents of both Loyola Marymount University and Loyola High School.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested that memorial contributions be made to the Paul Boland Memorial Fund, which provides scholarships.

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Retirement Date

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 12:00

Job Title

Tricia A. Bigelow

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:46:22 +0000

Tricia A. Bigelow JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:46

Second District, Div Eight

Division

Start Date

Mon, 02/08/2010 - 12:00

Biography

Tricia A. Bigelow is a seasoned legal professional who was born in Long Beach, California. She has held several significant positions in the judicial system, including Presiding Justice and Associate Justice. In terms of her education, Bigelow earned her Bachelor's degree from California State University, Fullerton in 1982. She then went on to obtain her Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1986. She was admitted to the State Bar in December of the same year. Bigelow's judicial experience is extensive. She served as the Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8 from February 8, 2010, to June 30, 2021. This appointment was made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Prior to this, she was an Associate Justice in the same court from June 4, 2008, to February 8, 2010, also appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Before her time in the Court of Appeal, Bigelow served as a Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court from 1998 to 2008, a position she was elevated to by Governor Pete Wilson. She also served as a Judge in the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1995 to 1998, appointed by the same governor. In addition to her judicial roles, Bigelow has also held other professional positions. She was the Dean of the Bernard E. Witkin Judicial College from 2006 to 2008. She also worked as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General for the State of California from 1989 to 1995, and as a Deputy Attorney General from 1986 to 1989. Bigelow's work has been recognized with several awards. In 2018, she was named Alumna of the Year by Pepperdine University School of Law. In 2015, she received the Bernard S. Jefferson Judicial Education Award from the California Judges Association. In 2014, she was honored with the Ronald M. George Award for Judicial Excellence by the California Judicial Council.

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Justice Bigelow Six

Retirement Date

Wed, 06/30/2021 - 12:00

Job Title

Presiding Justice

Maria E. Stratton

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:45:24 +0000

Maria E. Stratton JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:45

Division

Start Date

Mon, 01/01/2018 - 12:00

Biography

Justice Maria E. Stratton is the Presiding Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight.

Justice Stratton was born in Santa Monica, California and raised in San Diego, her father’s last duty station in the United States Navy. She graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California and received her law degree from Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley (now Berkeley Law). She served as law clerk to United States Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson at both the U.S. District Court (before his elevation) and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

After clerking, Justice Stratton worked as a Deputy Federal Public Defender at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. She was an associate at Overland, Berke, Wesley, Gits, Randolph and Levanas for a short time before joining Talcott, Lightfoot, Vandevelde, Woehrle & Sadowsky where she practiced criminal and civil litigation for 10 years as an associate, partner, and a managing partner.

In 1993, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appointed Justice Stratton as the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California where for 12 years she directed an office of 60 attorneys representing indigent federal criminal defendants at the trial and appellate levels and on post-conviction habeas corpus review. She has served on the Ninth Circuit Capital Case and Capital Cost Oversight Committees and the Ninth Circuit Gender Bias Task Force Los Angeles Working Group.

In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Justice Stratton to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where she served as Assistant Supervising Judge of the mental health departments of the criminal division, Assistant Supervising Judge of the Van Nuys courthouse, and Supervising Judge of the probate division. From 2006 through 2018, she tried over 60 civil and criminal cases to jury verdict and presided over hundreds of civil and criminal bench trials. Justice Stratton was also active in bench and bar education.

In 2018, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. appointed Justice Stratton as an Associate Justice to the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight. She is presently a member of the Judicial Council’s Probate Curriculum Advisory Committee and Appellate Indigent Defense Oversight Advisory Committee and a former member of the Judicial Council’s Task Force for Criminal Justice Collaboration on Mental Health Issues and the Mental Health Issues Implementation Task force.

In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Justice Stratton to be Presiding Justice. After receiving an “exceptionally well qualified” rating from the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, she was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

Justice Stratton is the recipient of the 2016 Ernestine Stahlhut Award from the Women Lawyer’s Association of Los Angeles, the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Services from the State Bar of California, and the Mort Herbert Service Award from the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Bar Association. During her career as a trial lawyer, she was recognized by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the Top 75 Women Litigators in California and one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California; by the Los Angeles County Bar Association Criminal Justice Section as Defense Attorney of the Year; and by the Women Lawyer’s Association of Los Angeles as one of the “First Women of L.A. Law.”

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Presiding Justice

Elizabeth A. Grimes

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Elizabeth A. Grimes JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:45

Second District Court of Appea

Division

Start Date

Mon, 04/05/2010 - 12:00

Biography

Beth Grimes was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight, in April 2010.

Her judicial career began when she was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in December 1997. Justice Grimes’ first judicial assignment was to the dependency court, after which she presided over a felony calendar court in what was then known as the Criminal Courts Building and later in independent calendar general jurisdiction courtrooms in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse and the Santa Monica Courthouse. Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeal, from August 2004 through March 2005, Justice Grimes was assigned as a justice pro tempore to Division Four of the Second District Court of Appeal.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Justice Grimes received her law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where she was an Associate Editor of the Stanford Law Review. She also attended the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, for one semester during her senior year of college, and she attended Mount Holyoke College her freshman year of college.

Before her appointment to the bench, Justice Grimes was a partner in the Litigation Department of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, engaged in a business litigation practice since joining the firm in 1980. She has extensive trial and appellate experience in federal and state courts involving a wide range of commercial litigation, including securities, bankruptcy litigation, partnership disputes, employment disputes, product liability, unlawful detainer and other general business disputes.

While on the Los Angeles Superior Court, Justice Grimes was a member of the Executive Committee in 2008. She served on other committees of the Los Angeles Superior Court, including the Research Attorneys Committee, the Media Committee, the Bench Bar Committee, and the ADR Committee. She was a member of the JES faculty and taught courses concerning summary judgments, verdicts, anti-SLAPP motions, and employment law. She was a panelist on Legalworks’ Annual E-Discovery and Trial Practice Forums in February 2006 and 2007. She was a panelist for the CJA/Rutter Group Employment Litigation Programs in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. She has presented lectures at Stanford Law School, USC Gould School of Law and Pepperdine University School of Law.

While on the Court of Appeal, Justice Grimes has spoken on continuing education panels for ABTL, the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the State Bar, Pincus Professional Education, The Rutter Group, and the Association of California Insurance Companies General Counsel Seminar.

Justice Grimes is a member of the Judicial Council Appellate Practice Curriculum Committee; a member of the Second Appellate District Technology and Library Committee and Rules Committee, and is also on the Editorial Board of California Litigation. Previously, she served as a member of the Judicial Council Advisory Committees on Civil Jury Instructions and on Civil and Small Claims, and was a member of the ABTL Judicial Advisory Council from 2014-2016.

Justice Grimes has been active in community affairs. Over the years, she has sponsored numerous educational programs for children in her courtrooms; has served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles and the Inland Empire; chaired the mothers’ group of the Pinafores of the League for Crippled Children; and served as an AYSO coach and referee. She has served on the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School and as co-chair of the Stanford Law Society of Los Angeles. She is devoted to the pursuit of good nutrition and fitness.

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Retirement Date

Sat, 05/31/2025 - 12:00

Job Title

John Shepard Wiley Jr.

JCC — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:45:24 +0000

John Shepard Wiley Jr. JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:45

Division

Start Date

Mon, 01/01/2018 - 12:00

Biography

Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr. was appointed to the Superior Court in 2002 and to the Court of Appeal in 2018. He clerked for Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States and for Judge Frank Coffin of the First Circuit. Wiley has published in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, University of Chicago Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Duke Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Columbia Law Review, and American Economics Review. Wiley was tenured at UCLA Law School, where he won UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. He was a federal prosecutor. His wife is Justice Anne H. Egerton of Division Three of the Court of Appeal. They have two grown children.

Wiley has climbed The Nose on El Capitan and the Northwest Face of Half Dome.

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Victor Viramontes

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Victor Viramontes JCC Fri, 12/15/2023 - 15:45

Division

Start Date

Sat, 01/01/2022 - 12:00

Biography

Victor Viramontes is an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight.

Justice Viramontes began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Carlos R. Moreno in the federal district court for the Central District of California in 1999. Thereafter, he was an associate at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, where he practiced from 2000 to 2001. He joined the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) as a staff attorney in 2001 and worked there until 2005. Between 2005 and 2008, he served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and then as a senior trial attorney from 2008 to 2010. Justice Viramontes rejoined MALDEF as national senior counsel in 2010.

In November 2017, former Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed Justice Viramontes to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In October 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom nominated Justice Viramontes to the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight. He was rated “exceptionally well qualified” by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him in November 2022.

Justice Viramontes received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School.

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