Superior Court of Fresno County, California

The Superior Court of Fresno County is one of 58 Superior Courts in California.

Judges

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

Former judges

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

Fresno county courthouse

Judicial selection

The method of judicial selection for the California Superior Courts is officially nonpartisan election of judges, though many judges join the court via gubernatorial appointment. Once judges are appointed, they compete in the next general election following appointment.

If an incumbent Superior Court judge files for re-election and draws no opponent, that race does not appear on the ballot. If the race is contested, the candidate who wins more than 50% of the vote is elected. If no candidate receives more than 50%, the top two compete in a runoff in the general election in November.

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, 2025
• 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

Selection method

See also: Nonpartisan election

The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.

If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.

The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.

Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.

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

• Fresno County, California
• California Superior Courts
• California salaries and budgets

External links

• Superior Court of Fresno County
• California Courts, "Trial Court Roster"