Two Fil-Am Women Appointed as California Superior Court Judges

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Rohanee Zapanta, and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Audra Ibarra

CALIFORNIA 30 December 2018 — Two Filipina Americans were among the 13 California Superior Court judges appointed by California Governor Edmund “Jerry” G. Brown Jr. on 19 December 2018.

Rohanee Zapanta was appointed judge in the San Diego County Superior Court, while Audra Ibarra will be a judge at the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Ms. Zapanta, 42, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Diego and her Juris Doctor degree from the same school. She has been serving as a Deputy Public Defender at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office since 2005. Prior to this, she was an associate at the Law Offices of Bay Bula on in 2005, and at Price Law Group from 2003 to 2004.

Ms. Ibarra, 49, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California Berkeley and her Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law. She has been counsel at California Appellate Law Group since 2012, and a sole practitioner since 2010. Prior to this, she served at the U.S. Attorney’s Office as Assistant Attorney.

With her appointment, Ms. Ibarra became the first Filipino-American ever appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, and the first Filipino-American woman to serve as a superior court judge in the Bay Area.

A Superior Court is a trial court in which a judge or jury decides cases by applying the law to the facts presented by witnesses’ testimony and other evidence. END