News Release

Commission Confirms Appointments to Courts of Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO—Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, chair of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, announced that the commission today confirmed four appointments to the Courts of Appeal.
Jul 26, 2018

Click here to download photos of the hearings.

SAN FRANCISCO—Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, chair of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, announced that the commission today confirmed the following appointments by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to the Courts of Appeal, First Appellate District, Fifth Appellate District, and Sixth Appellate District:

  • Justice Peter Siggins, as Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Three (San Francisco)
  • Judge Allison Danner, as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District (San Jose)
  • Judge Thomas DeSantos, as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District (Fresno)
  • Judge Mark W. Snauffer, as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District (Fresno)


The appointments were approved by a unanimous vote at the public hearings held today in the Supreme Court Courtroom, 350 McAllister Street, San Francisco.

Appointee Summary Biographies

Justice Peter Siggins would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice William R. McGuiness. Siggins has served as an associate justice at the First District Court of Appeal since 2006. He served in several positions in the Office of the Governor from 2003 to 2005, including legal affairs secretary and interim chief of staff. Siggins served in several positions at the California Attorney General’s Office from 1988 to 2003, including senior assistant attorney general and chief deputy attorney general. Siggins was a sole practitioner from 1983 to 1988 and an associate at Acret and Perrochet from 1979 to 1982. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University.

Judge Allison Danner would fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Mary J. Greenwood to Administrative Presiding Justice. Danner has served as a judge at the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 2012. She served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California from 2007 to 2012, taking a leave to serve as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2009 to 2010. Danner was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2006 and a professor at Vanderbilt Law School from 2001 to 2007. She served as a law clerk for Justice John Paul Stevens at the U.S. Supreme Court from 1998 to 1999 and as a law clerk for the Justice John T. Noonan, Jr. at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit from 1997 to 1998. Danner earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College.

Judge Thomas DeSantos would fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Gene M. Gomes. DeSantos has served as a judge at the Kings County Superior Court since 2003. He was a sole practitioner from 1993 to 2003 and from 1984 to 1989. DeSantos was a partner at Farley, DeSantos et. al., from 1989 to 1993, and an associate at Kahn, Soares, and Conway from 1981 to 1983. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California, School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University.

Judge Mark Snauffer would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen J. Kane. Snauffer has served as a judge at the Fresno County Superior Court since 2000. He was a partner at Baker, Manock, and Jensen from 1982 to 2000, an associate at Hefner, Stark, and Marois from 1980 to 1982, and an associate at McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte, and Carruth from 1977 to 1980. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley.