Deborah C. ServinoIncumbent

Candidate for Court of Appeal Justice, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division 3, Seat 7

Deborah C. Servino is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. She sits on the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, in Santa Ana. She is one of the newest members of that court. She earned her B.A. cum laude from Duke University. That was in the early 1990s. She earned her J.D. from Berkeley School of Law. That was in 1995. She then clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. That was from 1995 to 1996. She was an associate at Rutan & Tucker. That was from 1996 to 1997. She served as a Deputy Attorney General. That was in the California Attorney General's Office, from 1997 to 2009. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the Orange County Superior Court. That was on July 16, 2009. She was reported to be the second Asian Pacific American woman on that court. She spent 17 years on the trial bench. She served as presiding judge of the court's Appellate Division. That was from 2014 to 2015. She then spent more than a decade on the unlimited civil panel. That ran from 2015 to 2026, and she heard over 180 trials. She also served on the Judicial Council's Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. She long chaired the court's judicial extern committee. Governor Gavin Newsom nominated her to the Court of Appeal. That was on April 16, 2026. The State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation rated her 'exceptionally well qualified.' The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed her on May 22, 2026. She was appointed in the year of a governor's election. So she goes before voters on November 3, 2026. It is a nonpartisan yes/no retention vote, with no opposing candidate.

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