News Release

Commission to Consider Appointments to Courts of Appeal

April 17 virtual hearings will be webcast live on the California Courts Newsroom.
Mar 7, 2023

The Commission on Judicial Appointments will hold virtual public hearings on April 17 starting at 10:30 a.m. to consider the appointments of:

  • Judge Audra Mori as an associate justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Four (Los Angeles)
  • Judge Tari Cody as an associate justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six (Ventura)
  • Judge Rashida Adams as an associate justice of the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three (Los Angeles)

The hearings will be held virtually, and webcast live on the California Courts Newsroom.

The state Constitution specifies that a gubernatorial appointment to the Court of Appeal is effective when confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

The commission members who will consider the appointment are California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero (Chair), California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert.

Appointee Biographies

Judge Audra Mori would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Thomas Willhite. Judge Mori has served as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge since 2018. Judge Mori was managing partner of the Los Angeles Office of Perkins Coie LLP from 2017 to 2018, where she was a partner from 2005 to 2018. She was a partner at Piper Rudnick LLP from 2002 to 2004 and at Preston, Gates and Ellis LLP in 2002, where she was an associate from 1998 to 2001. Judge Mori was an associate at Andrews Kurth LLP from 1996 to 1998 and served as a law clerk to Senior Judge Richard W. Goldberg at the U.S. Court of International Trade from 1994 to 1996. She was an associate at Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison from 1992 to 1994. Mori earned a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School.

Judge Tari Cody would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Steven Z. Perren. Judge Cody has served as a Ventura County Superior Court judge since 2000. Judge Cody was an associate at Lemieux & O’Neill from 1994 to 2000. She was an associate and partner at Nordman, Cormany, Hair & Compton from 1985 to 1994. Judge Cody earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School.

Judge Rashida Adams would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Halim Dhanidina. Judge Adams has served as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge since 2017. She served as a senior appellate court attorney at the Second District Court of Appeal from 2009 to 2017, where she was an appellate court attorney from 2008 to 2009. She was an associate at Caldwell Leslie and Proctor PC from 2005 to 2007 and at Bernabei and Katz PLLC from 2002 to 2005. Judge Adams earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School.

Testimony and Comment

Requests to testify or written comments on the appointment must be received by the commission no later than 5 p.m. April 10 (five court days prior to hearing). Anyone wishing to testify before the commission must state that request in writing and include a summary of the facts on which any testimony or opinion will be based.

Submissions via email to coja@jud.ca.gov are strongly encouraged. Hard copies are not required.

If you would like to mail your request, you may also reach the commission at:

Commission on Judicial Appointments
c/o Chief Justice of California
Supreme Court of California
350 McAllister Street
San Francisco, California 94102
Attention: Secretary to the Commission

Guidelines for the Commission on Judicial Appointments are published in the appendix to the California Rules of Court and are posted on the California Courts website.

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