Commission Confirms Four Appointments to Courts of Appeal

Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, chair of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, announced today that the commission confirmed four appointments to California’s Courts of Appeal in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Diego: 

• Justice Rashida Adams, as presiding justice of the Second Appellate District, Division Three (Los Angeles)
• Judge Juliet Macaulay, as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (Santa Ana)
• Judge Lisa Rodriguez, as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One (San Diego)
• Judge Marsha Amin, as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One (San Diego)

The appointees were confirmed by unanimous vote of the three-member commission, which includes: California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero (Chair); California Attorney General Rob Bonta; Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild (for the Second Appellate District hearing); and Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez (for the Fourth Appellate District hearings).

The confirmations of Justice Adams, Judge Macaulay, and Judge Rodriguez are subject to voter confirmation during the general election scheduled for Nov. 3, with terms beginning on Jan. 4, 2027, if voter confirmation is successful.

You can learn more in the public documents available for this hearing. 

Appointee Biographies

Justice Rashida Adams fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Lee Edmon. She has served as an associate justice for the Second Appellate District, Division Three, since 2023 and previously served as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge from 2017 to 2023. Before joining the bench, she served as a senior appellate court attorney at the Second Appellate District, Division Eight from 2008 to 2017 and was in private practice as an attorney from 2005 to 2007 and from 2001 to 2005. She received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Judge Juliet Macaulay fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Joanne Motoike to presiding justice. She has served as an Orange County Superior Court judge since 2022. Before joining the bench, she served in various roles at the California Department of Social Services including as chief administrative law judge from 2020 to 2022; presiding administrative law judge from 2016 to 2020; and administrative law judge from 2012 to 2016. She served at the California Board of Parole Hearings as a commissioner in 2011 and a deputy commissioner from 2004 to 2011. She was in private practice as a sole practitioner from 1997 to 2004. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Ibadan.

Judge Lisa Rodriguez fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Terry B. O’Rourke after he completes his term of office on Jan. 4, 2027. She has served as a San Diego Superior Court judge since 2015 and has worked as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law since 2014. Before serving on the bench, she served as a deputy district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 2015 and as a deputy city attorney at the San Diego City Attorney’s Office from 1996 to 1998. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Judge Marsha Amin fills the vacancy created by the death of Justice Joan Irion. She has served as a San Diego Superior Court judge since 2023. Before joining the bench, she served at the Fourth Appellate District as managing attorney from 2018 to 2023 and as senior attorney from 2011 to 2018. She was a litigation attorney in private practice from 2006 to 2010. She served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California from 2005 to 2006. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law.  

View the full photo album on the California Courts Flickr.