Fresno County, California (Judicial)

Fresno County is located within the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

The people of Fresno County are served by a Superior Court.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California has jurisdiction in Fresno County. Appeals from the Eastern District go to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Judges

Fresno County, California

Superior Court

Superior Court of Fresno County, California

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
David Andrew Gottlieb	2005 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Gregory T. Fain
Houry A. Sanderson	2005 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
James A. Kelley	2009 - Present	Election
Jeffrey Y. Hamilton Jr.	2005 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
John R. Vogt	2003 - Present	Election
Lisa M. Gamoian	2015 - Present	Election
Monica Diaz	2017 - Present	Gov. Jerry Brown (D)
Adolfo M. Corona	2003 - Present	Gov. Gray Davis
Gary R. Orozco	2001 - Present	Gov. Gray Davis
Brian M. Arax	2007 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Virna L. Santos	March 14, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
David Muñoz	2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Pahoua Lor	2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Jonathan M. Skiles	2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Kristi Culver Kapetan	2007 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Mark E. Cullers	2015 - Present	Gov. Jerry Brown (D)
Timothy A. Kams	1998 - Present	Gov. Pete Wilson
D. Tyler Tharpe	2006 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Irene Luna	2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Bob Whalen	January 2, 2023 - Present
William Terrence	2019 - Present	Election
Leanne L. Le Mon	2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Kimberly A. Gaab	2008 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
Arlan L. Harrell	2006 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
F. Brian Alvarez	2009 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Kimberly J. Nystrom-Geist	2007 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Alvin M. Harrell III	2007 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Francine Zepeda	2013 - Present	Gov. Jerry Brown
Glenda S. Allen-Hill	2008 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Samuel Dalesandro Jr.		Gavin Newsom
Gabriel Brickey	January 4, 2021 - Present	Election
Elizabeth Egan	January 4, 2021 - Present	Election
Jonathan B. Conklin	2005 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Amy K. Guerra	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Heather Jones	January 4, 2019 - Present	Jerry Brown
Ryan I. Wells	2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Charles J. Lee	2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Robert Mangano	2019 - Present	Election
Michael G. Idiart	2015 - Present	Gov. Jerry Brown (D)
Mary Dolas	2015 - Present	Gov. Jerry Brown (D)
David C. Kalemkarian	2005 - Present	Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Stephanie Negin	March 14, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Geoffrey Wilson	2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Amythest Freeman	March 30, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Mary Vasquez	2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom

Former judges

For information on former judges of the Superior Court of Fresno County, click here.

Fresno county courthouse

Elections

See also: California judicial elections

California is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in California, click here.

• California local trial court judicial elections, 2024
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2023
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2022
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2021
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2020
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2019
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2018
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2017
• California local trial court judicial elections, 2016
• California judicial elections, 2014
• California judicial elections, 2012
• California judicial elections, 2010

Election rules

Primary election

Only candidates for the superior courts compete in primary elections.

• If a superior court judge runs unopposed for re-election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot and he or she is automatically re-elected following the general election.

• Write-in candidates may file to run against an incumbent within 10 days after the filing deadline passes if they are able to secure enough signatures (between 100 and 600, depending on the number of registered voters in the county). In that case, the incumbent would appear on the general election ballot along with an option to vote for a write-in candidate.

• In contested races, the candidate who receives a majority of all the votes in the primary wins the election. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary, the top two compete in the November general election.

General election

• Superior court candidates who advance from the primary election compete in the general election.

• Superior court incumbents facing competition from write-in candidates appear on the ballot.

See also

• California counties
• Courts in California

External links

• Fresno County Court Records

Footnotes

California courts

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Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California

State courts:

California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts

State resources:

Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California