Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced his appointment of new superior court judges in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
Alameda County Superior Court
Ernesto “Ernie” Castillo has been appointed a judge in the Alameda County Superior Court. He has been the owner of the Castillo Law Office since 2013 and was an associate for lawyer Robert Beles from 2003 to 2013.
Castillo received his law degree from Golden Gate University. He succeeds Judge Morris D. Jacobson, who retired.
Contra Costa County Superior Court
Hanni Fakhoury has been appointed a judge in the Contra Costa County Superior Court. He has worked as a partner of Moeel Lah Fakhoury since 2021.
Fakhoury was an assistant federal public defender for the Northern District of California from 2015 to 2021 and a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2011 to 2015.
Fakhoury received his law degree from the University of Pacific. He succeeds Judge Charles S. Treat, who retired.
Amanda Karl has been appointed a judge in the Contra Costa County Superior Court. She worked at Gibbs Mura as an associate from 2016 to 2021 and as a partner since 2022.
Karl served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 2015 to 2016 and at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 2014 to 2015. Karl received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She succeeds Judge Charles B. Burch, who retired.
San Francisco County Superior Court
Justine Cephus has been appointed a judge in the San Francisco County Superior Court. She was most recently a deputy city attorney for San Francisco and was an assistant district attorney for San Francisco from 2012 to 2026.
She served as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County from 2011 to 2012 and as a volunteer deputy district attorney for San Joaquin County from 2010 to 2011.
Cephus received her law degree from the California Western School of Law. She succeeds Judge Ross C. Moody, who retired.
San Mateo County Superior Court
David Silberman has been appointed a judge in the San Mateo County Superior Court. He is San Mateo County’s assistant county counsel and served in various roles in that office since 2004.
Silberman was an associate at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin from 2002 to 2004. He was a law clerk at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from 2001 to 2002 and at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California from 2000 to 2001.
Silberman received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He succeeds Judge Nina G. Shapirshteyn, who retired.
Two named to Building Standards Commission
In a separate action, Newsom also appointed two people from the Bay Area to the California Building Standards Commission.
Janice Cheung-Powell, of San Francisco, has served as fire marshal for the Redwood City Fire Department since 2024, according to the Governor’s Office.
She served as a designated campus fire marshal at the University of California, San Francisco from 2020 to 2024. Cheung-Powell was a fire protection engineer at the San Francisco Fire Department from 2015 to 2020 and deputy fire marshal at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2008 to 2009.
Cheung-Powell is a member of the Hospital Building Safety Board with the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.
Olivia Mae Asuncion, of Oakland, has been a project architect at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects since 2021. She held multiple positions at Shah Kawasaki Architects from 2015 to 2021, including architect and design professional.
She is a member of the U.S. Access Board and the California Commission on Disability Access.
The positions require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem.