Governor Gavin Newsom has nominated two sitting San Diego Superior Court judges, Marsha Amin and Lisa Rodriguez, to become associate justices on the San Diego-based 4th District Court of Appeal, Division One. The nominations, announced August 7, would fill vacancies left by the death of longtime Justice Joan Irion and the upcoming retirement of Justice Terry B. O’Rourke.
The two judges cannot simply step into the appellate seats. As reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, both nominations require confirmation from the Commission on Judicial Appointments, a three-member panel made up of California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Fourth District Senior Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez. That commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the nominations August 20 in San Francisco, according to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Amin would fill the seat of Irion, who died in June following an illness after serving on Division One for nearly 23 years, having been appointed by Governor Gray Davis in September 2003, according to the California Courts Newsroom. Irion was known during her tenure as a prominent advocate for civil self-help legal programs and women's judicial leadership organizations, the courts newsroom noted.
A Familiar Face Returning to the Appellate Bench
Amin's path back to Division One is a homecoming of sorts. Before becoming a San Diego Superior Court judge in 2023, she spent more than a decade inside the same appellate court, working as a senior attorney from 2011 to 2018 and then as managing attorney starting in 2018, according to the Union-Tribune's reporting. That internal institutional experience is notable given she's now nominated to sit on the very court where she once worked as staff, per Procopio, the San Diego law firm where Amin practiced civil litigation as a litigator from 2006 to 2010 before joining the court.
Procopio posted a statement congratulating Amin on the nomination, calling it “the latest honor for an attorney who has been a dedicated public servant for many years.” Amin also worked as a law clerk for the San Diego federal court from 2005 to 2006 and earned her law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, per the seed report's reporting.
Rodriguez's Path Runs Through November Ballot
Rodriguez, a San Diego Superior Court judge since 2015, brings a different résumé to her nomination: years as a deputy district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney's Office from 1998 to 2015, plus earlier work as a deputy city attorney in San Diego from 1996 to 1998. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law since 2014 and earned her law degree there as well.
Rodriguez's nomination comes with a distinct timing wrinkle. Because Justice O'Rourke's retirement doesn't take effect until his term ends January 4, 2027, her nomination must be confirmed by voters directly on the November 3 general election ballot before she can assume the seat, per the governor's office. Under Article VI of the California Constitution, confirmed Court of Appeal justices must stand for voter approval in a yes-no retention race at the next gubernatorial general election to serve a 12-year term, according to Ballotpedia — a system that differs sharply from the lifetime appointments given to federal judges.
A Recusal Dynamic Already Well-Established
Rodriguez is married to San Diego County Public Defender Paul Rodriguez, and she disqualifies herself from cases involving his office. That recusal policy played out concretely in October 2025, when she stepped aside from a federal border agent trial after a witness was assigned public defender counsel, as reported by inewsource. California judicial ethics rules require judges to step back from matters where an immediate family member serves as legal counsel or heads an appearing office, and that dynamic will likely continue to shape her caseload if she moves to the appellate bench.
Pay, Terms and a Court Still in Flux
The move from Superior Court to the Court of Appeal comes with a raise. Superior Court judges earn $244,727 annually, while Court of Appeal associate justices earn $280,052 annually, according to figures reported by the Daily Journal. Superior Court judges serve six-year terms, compared to the 12-year terms appellate justices serve once confirmed by voters.
Division One has seen substantial turnover this year. In April, Newsom nominated Imperial County Superior Court Judge Eran Marie Bermudez to fill the seat vacated by Justice Richard D. Huffman's retirement, according to the governor's office — turnover that adds to the reshaping of a court that handles appellate reviews for both San Diego and Imperial counties. The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One is one of three divisions within California's larger Fourth Appellate District, which spans six Southern California counties, according to background from California Courts.
Superior Court Seats Also Filled
Alongside the appellate nominations, Newsom appointed court commissioners Crystal Salumbides and Brigid Campo to fill open San Diego Superior Court seats, a move that took effect immediately since Superior Court appointees don't require the same commission confirmation process. Salumbides will fill the seat of Judge Joel Wohlfeil, who retired in March, and was set to be sworn in during the week of August 10. She worked as a deputy public defender at the San Diego County Public Defender's Office from 2013 to 2025 before becoming a superior court commissioner in 2025, and earned her law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
Campo took the seat left open by Judge Daniel Lamborn's retirement in April and was sworn in August 10. Her background includes work as a deputy district attorney at the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office in 2011, a stint as a sole practitioner starting that same year, an associate role at the Law and Mediation Offices of Klueck & Hoppes beginning in 2014, and time as of counsel at Ashworth, Blanchet & Christenson from 2018 to 2019. She later worked as a research attorney at San Diego Superior Court from 2019 to 2023, served as an administrative law judge for the state Department of Social Services in 2023, and was a court commissioner that same year. Campo earned her law degree from Santa Barbara College of Law.
The broader August 7 announcement was part of a statewide slate of 17 judicial appointments and nominations from Newsom's office, including eight Court of Appeal nominees and nine Superior Court judge appointments spanning Los Angeles, Sacramento, Orange County and the Bay Area, according to the governor's office. For San Diego, the immediate question now turns to the August 20 commission hearing in San Francisco — and, for Rodriguez, to what November voters decide.
