Commission Confirms Appointments to Courts of Appeal
Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, chair of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, announced that the commission today confirmed two nominations to the California Courts of Appeal in San Francisco and Santa Ana.
The nominees were confirmed by unanimous vote of the three-member commission, which includes: Chief Justice Guerrero (Chair); Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Presiding Justice Jim Humes (for the First District) and Presiding Justice Manuel A. Ramirez (for the Fourth District).
The nominees confirmed were:
Judge Charles Smiley, as associate justice of the First Appellate District, Division One (San Francisco)
Judge Nathan Scott, as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (Santa Ana)
Appointee Biographies
Judge Charles A. Smiley fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Sandra L. Margulies. He has served as an Alameda County Superior Court judge since 2012 and as a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law since 2014. Judge Smiley served as a commissioner at the Alameda County Superior Court from 2007 to 2012. He served as a deputy public defender at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office from 1997 to 2007 and was an associate adjunct professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco from 2004 to 2007. Judge Smiley earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
Judge Nathan R. Scott fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice William W. Bedsworth. Judge Scotthas served as a Orange County Superior Court judge since 2012. Judge Scott served as a senior appellate court attorney and appellate court attorney at the Fourth District Court of Appeal from 2005 to 2012. He was an associate at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP from 2003 to 2004 and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP from 1999 to 2003. Judge Scott earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
