Newsom appoints 4 new judges to San Diego Superior Court bench

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday the appointment of four new judges to fill vacancies on the San Diego Superior Court bench.

Newsom appointed attorneys Jami L. Ferrara and Rachel L. Jensen, Intertribal Court Chief Judge Devon L. Lomayesva and San Diego court Commissioner Catherine A. Richardson to fill empty slots left by retiring judges, the governor’s office announced Friday.

The swearing-in dates for three judges have not yet been determined but are planned to occur in the coming weeks, court officials said. Ferrara’s date is set for Oct. 30.

Ferrara has been a sole practitioner since 2001. After graduating from George Mason University Law School, she went on to become a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. from 1997 to 2000.

She is filling the vacancy of Judge John S. Meyer.

Jensen earned her juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2000. She then became an associate at Morrison & Foerster LLP for a year before moving on to being a law clerk for Judge Warren J. Ferguson in the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals from 2001 to 2002.

Jensen left the appeals court in 2002 to receive a clerkship in the office of the United Nations Prosecutor’s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2002 and again for the criminal tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in 2003.

In 2003, she became an associate at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP in San Diego. She was named partner in 2008.

Jensen is replacing Judge David Rubin.

Lomayesva comes to the bench after serving as the chief judge at the Intertribal Court of Southern California while also working as a private practitioner. She was a pro tem judge at the intertribal court from 2015 to 2016 and a tribal attorney for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians from 2013 to 2014.

Before becoming a judge, Lomayesva graduated from California Western Law School and went on to work as a staff attorney at the California Indian Lands Office from 2002 to 2003, eventually becoming directing attorney.

She was executive director at California Indian Legal Services from 2007 to 2012 and in-house counsel for the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel from 2004 to 2007. She fills the vacancy left by Judge Harry Powazek.

Richardson graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law and became a San Diego deputy city attorney from 1990 to 1997. She then became an associate at Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire in 1998 and was partner at the firm between 1997 to 2005.

After four years of being a sole practitioner, a two-year stint back in the city attorney’s office, and another year back in private practice, she served as a senior chief deputy at the city attorney’s office from 2014 to 2024. She has been a commissioner at the San Diego Superior Court since earlier this year.

Richardson is replacing Judge Carlos O. Amour.

All four judges are registered Democrats. Annual compensation for judges in California is $238,479.