Newsom appoints five Bay Area trial judges

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday appointed five new Bay Area trial judges to posts in Alameda County, San Mateo County and Santa Clara County superior courts.

Rebekah Evenson, 45, of Oakland, was named to Alameda County Superior Court. She has been director of litigation and advocacy for Bay Area Legal Aid since 2016, and previously was a senior staff attorney at the Prison Law Office and in private practice.

Also appointed to Alameda County Superior Court was Joscelyn Jones, 63, of Brentwood. She has served as a temporary judge in that court’s Probate Division since 2016 and has been president of a Brentwood law firm since 1997.

Rachel Holt, 48, of Redwood City, and Michael Wendler, 43, of Belmont, were appointed to San Mateo County Superior Court. Holt has served as a commissioner at the court since 2014 and previously was in private practice. Wendler has been a deputy San Mateo County district attorney since 2006.

Brooke Blecher, 47, of San Jose, was named to Santa Clara County Superior Court. Blecher has been a commissioner at that court since 2018 and was previously in private practice.

The new judges were appointed to fill vacancies created by retirements, with the exception of Holt, who will fill a position created by the conversion of a court commissioner’s post to a judgeship.

The judges’ annual pay will be $214,601.