Gov. Newsom has nominated three Black women to serve on California Courts of Appeal: Justice Rashida Adams, right, and Judges Denise Hippach, center, and Juliet Macaulay, left.
Statewide — Gov. Gavin Newsom has nominated three Black women — Justice Rashida Adams and Judges Denise Hippach and Juliet Macaulay — to serve on California Courts of Appeal.
They are among eight appellate court nominees recently announced by Newsom. The governor also appointed nine Superior Court judges across five counties.
Adams, of Los Angeles County, was nominated as presiding justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three. She has served as an associate justice on the court since 2023 and previously served as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge from 2017 to 2023.
Adams, who earned her law degree from Yale Law School, would succeed retired Justice Lee Edmon. Her term would begin Jan. 4, 2027, subject to voter confirmation in the Nov. 3 general election.
Hippach, of San Luis Obispo County, was nominated as an associate justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six. She has served on the Santa Barbara County Superior Court since 2022 and previously worked in county counsel, attorney general, district attorney and appellate counsel offices. She earned her law degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
Macaulay, of Orange County, was nominated as an associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three. She has served on the Orange County Superior Court since 2022. Previously, she was chief administrative law judge at the California Department of Social Services and held several positions with the California Board of Parole Hearings. She earned her law degree from the University of Ibadan.
Newsom’s other appellate nominees are David Sapp and Judge Lauri Damrell for the Third District; Judges Marsha Amin and Lisa Rodriguez for the Fourth District, Division One; and Judge Frederick Chung for the Sixth District.
The governor also appointed Justin Ford, Erin Murphy, Wilson Park and Maricela Segura to the Los Angeles County Superior Court; Timothy Mulhere in Riverside County; and Crystal Salumbides and Brigid Campo in San Diego County. David Kim received an interim appointment in Sonoma County, and Phoebe Maffei received an interim appointment in San Francisco County.
The appellate nominations require confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Each appellate position pays $280,052 annually, while the Superior Court positions pay $244,727.
