Administrative Director

Michelle Curran

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:45:38 +0000

Michelle Curran Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:45

Start Date

Wed, 12/11/2024 - 12:00

Biography

Michelle Curran became Administrative Director for the Judicial Council in 2024. Curran has more than two decades of experience working on public policy with all three branches of government in California, including 17 years with the judicial branch. Before her appointment as Administrative Director, she served as the council’s Chief Policy and Research Officer and Director of Criminal Justice Services. Throughout her tenure with the council, Curran has led major policy reforms for the judicial branch that include remote court proceedings, pretrial detention, evidence-based practices in sentencing, recidivism reduction, ability-to-pay determinations for fines and fees, and the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act. She also served as lead staff for multiple council and Chief Justice workgroups, including helping to institutionalize changes and best practices in our court system based on lessons learned from the pandemic. Before joining the council, she was the principal consultant to two successive California Senate Presidents pro Tempore, advising Senate leadership on legislative agendas regarding the judiciary, criminal justice, civil rights, and consumer rights. On behalf of the President pro Tempore, she was also responsible for negotiating and drafting priority legislation involving judicial branch budgets, courthouse construction, and juvenile justice reform.

“A functioning judiciary is core to a functioning democracy,” Curran said after becoming the Administrative Director. “In a democracy, we debate facts, we seek to solve problems, and we legislate solutions, all within a set of rules. And it’s our branch that makes sure that we are operating within that set of rules. Most fundamentally, our expectation, hope, and drive is equal access to justice.” Curran embraces innovation and change to support the mission of the judiciary into the future and considers collaborative partnerships between the council and the courts and between the judicial branch and its sister branches of government essential for California’s court system to fulfill its public service responsibilities.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Curran 12-2024-copy

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

Martin Hoshino

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:44:59 +0000

Martin Hoshino Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:44

Start Date

Thu, 12/11/2014 - 12:00

Biography

Martin Hoshino, who served as Administrative Director of the Judicial Council of California from 2014 to 2022, is widely recognized for his steady leadership, collaborative style, and unwavering commitment to improving the administration of justice. A veteran public servant with more than three decades of state experience, Hoshino brought to the judicial branch a deep understanding of complex institutions and a talent for guiding large systems through challenging reforms.

Before joining the Judicial Council, Hoshino served as Undersecretary of Operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he oversaw statewide prison operations and helped implement significant policy and operational changes. That experience shaped his reputation as a pragmatic problem-solver with a focus on accountability, data-informed decision-making, and public service.

As Administrative Director, Hoshino worked closely with the Chief Justice to strengthen branchwide governance, stabilize funding, and modernize the courts. He helped advance efforts to expand language access, improve services for self-represented litigants, reduce the justice system’s reliance on fines and fees, and support pretrial and community-based reforms. Under his leadership, the branch also expanded statewide technology initiatives and strategic planning efforts.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

hoshino_bw

Retirement Date

Sun, 01/01/2023 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

William C. Vickrey

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:44:31 +0000

William C. Vickrey Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:44

Start Date

Fri, 12/11/1992 - 12:00

Biography

William Vickrey “has an evangelical fervor about reforming California’s judicial system,” noted the Daily Journal (January 31, 1997)—meaning a devotion “to making the judicial system responsive to the changing needs of the public and giving judges the opportunity to treat individual cases individually.” Lawmakers, judges, and others quoted in the article described Vickrey as “bright, energetic, and a dynamo of ideas,” “a person of high ideals and values,” and someone with a “willingness to involve everyone in the process.” Regarding himself, Vickrey reflected, “I sit in the most enviable position in the nation. I am very lucky to be here.” In 1995, the National Center for State Courts described him as the “quintessential public servant” and recognized his progressive approach to court administration by presenting him with its Warren E. Burger Award.

Vickrey was named Administrative Director in 1992 after seven years as the state court administrator for Utah. He served three California Chief Justices from 1992 until 2011: Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas, Chief Justice Ronald M. George, and Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye.

During his tenure, Vickrey collaborated on historic reforms for California’s judicial branch, most notably: ending the bifurcated county-state funding system for trial courts in favor of single-source state funding for greater equity in fiscal resources and available court services; unifying the municipal and superior courts into a single trial court level to improve court efficiency and expand court programs and services; and shifting responsibility for the management of more than 500 court facilities from the counties to the state to promote equal access to safe and secure courthouses for the public.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Vickrey

Retirement Date

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

Steven J. Jahr

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:43:56 +0000

Steven J. Jahr Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:43

Start Date

Tue, 12/11/2012 - 12:00

Biography

Judge Steven Jahr was the first and only Administrative Director with judicial experience, coming out of a three-year retirement from the Superior Court of Shasta County to take this leadership role during a time of unprecedented challenge for the judicial branch.

Jahr worked with Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye to secure critically needed reinvestment in California’s court system and promote transparency and accountability in judicial branch funding and operations—with ongoing self-assessment—and to unify council members and their staff under a single name, the Judicial Council of California.

Jahr retired from the Shasta County bench in 2009 after a stellar career in both the municipal and superior courts. He served on the Judicial Council from 1998–2001 and chaired the Task Force on Trial Court Funding and the Trial Court Budget Commission to address issues underlying the chronic underfunding of the trial courts. The work of the commission resulted in the court system’s first consolidated trial court budget proposal.

“The budget commission was also tasked with dealing with sensitive political issues between the courts,” Jahr said in 2008. “Several courts had strong relationships within their financially strong counties. They were not dependent on the state and were not enthused about having their operations funded at the state level. At the same time the majority of the courts were in difficult straits, and some were in dire straits. A commission composed mainly of trial court judges was essential to provide local courts an avenue for venting their concerns."

In 2026, Jahr continues to serve as a chair of the Trial Court Workload Funding Workgroup, appointed by current Administrative Director Shelley Curran, to evaluate and improve how the workload funding needs of the trial courts are determined. He also serves as a member of the Court Facilities Advisory Committee, which helps guide the judicial branch’s capital program for the trial and appellate courts.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Jahr_Steven

Retirement Date

Wed, 01/01/2014 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

William E. Davis

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:43:23 +0000

William E. Davis Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:43

Start Date

Sun, 12/11/1988 - 12:00

Biography

Shortly following the oath of office by Chief Justice Lucas in February 1987, William E. Davis was appointed Administrative Director by the Judicial Council. Mr. Davis also was a member of the California Bar and, like Ralph Kleps, was no stranger to the Judicial Council, having served under Mr. Kleps as a staff attorney from 1973 to 1975. Mr. Davis served as the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts in his home state of Kentucky (1975–1979). In addition, between his service in Kentucky and his appointment as Administrative Director in California, Mr. Davis served as circuit executive of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco (1981–1986).

He became one of the pioneers in judicial administration with experience as the administrative head of court systems in more than one state.

As Administrative Director of the Courts in 1987, Davis played a central role in transforming how California’s judicial branch planned and set policy. Under the new leadership of Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas and Davis, the Judicial Council shifted from a largely reactive posture to a proactive, policy-driven one. Davis helped guide the council’s first-ever annual plan, which identified major issues affecting the courts and established clear priorities for addressing them—such as reducing delays, improving funding, enhancing uniformity, expanding automation, and promoting fairness and public access.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Davis

Retirement Date

Tue, 01/01/1991 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

Ralph J. Gampell

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:42:17 +0000

Ralph J. Gampell Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:42

Start Date

Mon, 12/11/1978 - 12:00

Biography

Chief Justice Bird appointed Ralph J. Gampell as the second Administrative Director. Mr. Gampell, a native of Great Britain and a physician, also was a member of the California Bar, practicing in San Jose. He was serving as president of the State Bar when appointed Administrative Director in 1977.

In 1979, the Special Committee on the Courts and the Media was appointed to consider the question of media coverage of court proceedings. The council adopted an experimental rule specifying a trial period of media recording and photographic coverage beginning on July 1, 1980, after which the effects of this coverage would be evaluated. This study culminated in the adoption of new rule 980 (Photographing, recording, and broadcasting in court), replacing the old rule 980 along with several other rules. The new rule, which took effect on July 1, 1984, allowed media coverage of criminal and civil courtroom proceedings at the trial and appellate levels.

Bird praised Gampell as a “trailblazer in the legal and judicial profession,” noting that as State Bar president, he helped lead early efforts to encourage lawyers to offer pro bono services to those unable to afford counsel.

Gampell retired following the election in 1986 at which Chief Justice Bird was not retained in office.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Gampell

Retirement Date

Thu, 01/01/1987 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director

Ralph N. Kleps

Kalyana.Villa@jud.ca.gov — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:39:32 +0000

Ralph N. Kleps Kalyana.Villa@… Thu, 12/11/2025 - 08:39

Start Date

Mon, 12/11/1961 - 12:00

Biography

Ralph N. Kleps, a nationally recognized expert in the field of court administration, became California’s first Administrative Director of the Courts in 1961.

The use of information technology first proliferated in the courts during Mr. Kleps’s 16-year tenure. In his 1969 address “Computers and Court Management,” he drew on survey statistics to find that in 1966 only 12 of California’s 58 superior courts were “utilizing data processing equipment.” Despite this low figure, he believed the widespread use of information technology was inevitable and welcome, but it was no panacea.

“None of us should be unduly optimistic about the possibility that the machines of the future are going to solve the problems of the present,” he warned. “Unless we continue to work like beavers on the problems of the present, keeping an eye on the machines of the future, they will never be able to assist us with those problems when the future arrives.”

In 1991, the Judicial Council instituted the Ralph N. Kleps Awards for Improvement in the Administration of the Courts to honor the contributions made by individual courts to improving access to a fair and impartial judicial system.

Person Type

Staff

Portrait

Kleps

Retirement Date

Sat, 01/01/1977 - 12:00

Job Title

Administrative Director

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Administrative Director