A state trial court / Established 1961

Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco

A general-jurisdiction trial court in California.

The Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco is a general-jurisdiction state trial court in California, where most civil and criminal cases are first heard. Its judges are chosen by gubernatorial appointment from a nominating commission, followed by retention elections, the method California uses for its judges. This page lists the judges on record for this court from our public-records source, current and former; trial-court coverage is partial.

123

Judges in history

Currently serving

Merit selection

Selection

12-yr

Term

Current judges

Judge	Since
Teresa Marie Caffese	–
Susan Marie Breall	2001
Charles Francis Haines	2001
Harold Ernest Joseph Kahn	2001
Newton Jue Lam	2001
Mary Ellen Wiss	2001
Gail Dekreon	2003
Kathleen Anne Kelly	2003
Suzanne Ramos Bolanos	2004
Curtis Edward Andrew Karnow	2005
Loretta Margaret Giorgi	2006
Anne-Christine Theresa Massullo	2006
Bruce E. Chan	2009
Roger C. Chan	2009
Andrew Yuan-Sung Cheng	2009
Jeffrey Steven Ross	2009
Gerardo Campos Sandoval	2009
Richard Brownley Ulmer Jr.	2009
Monica F. Wiley	2009
Angela M. Bradstreet	2010
Michael Isaku Begert	2011
Linda Harris Colfax	2011
Brendan Patrick Conroy	2012
Braden Comegys Woods	2012
Harry Mark Dorfman	2013
Rochelle C. East	2013
Ethan P. Schulman	2013
Charles Sentman Crompton III	2014
Edward Albert Torpoco	2014
Daniel A. Flores	2015
Ross Charles Moody	2015
Joseph Martin Quinn	2015
Sharon Maureen Reardon	2015
Christopher C. Hite	2016
Eric Robert Fleming	2017
Victor Murray Hwang	2017
Stephen M. Murphy	2017
Richard Curtis Darwin	2018
Alexandra Robert Gordon	2018
Rita Faye Lin	2018
Michael Bertram McNaughton	2018
Christine Van Aken	2018
Vedica Shon Puri	2019

Former judges

Judge	Years
Tracie Lynne Brown	2013–2018
Ronald E. Albers	2009–2017
James P. Collins	2009–2016
Samuel K. Feng	2009–2019
Robert Louis Dondero	2005–2006
Marla Jo Miller	2005–2014
Garrett L. Wong	2005–2020
Nancy L. Davis	2003–2017
Mary Carolyn Morgan	2003–2011
Donald J. Sullivan	2003–2017
Teri Leatrice Jackson	2002–2020
Peter J. Busch	2000–2020
Katherine A. Feinstein	2000–2013
Patrick J. Mahoney	2000–2013
John Stewart	2000–2016
Carol Yaggy	1999–2019
David L. Ballati	1998–2009
Ellen Chaitin	1998–2012
George T. Choppelas	1998–2000
John Edwards Conway	1998–2007
Joseph A. Desmond	1998–2002
Herbert Donaldson	1998–1999
Wallace P. Douglass	1998–2011
Charlene P. Kiesselbach	1998–2020
Cynthia Ming-mei Lee	1998–2014
Donna A. Little	1998–2012
Tomar Mason	1998–2011
James J. McBride	1998–2015
Perker L., Jr. Meeks	1998–2006
Philip J. Moscone	1998–2008
Ronald Evans Quidachay	1998–2018
Kevin V. Ryan	1998–2002
Julie M. Tang	1998–2014
Ksenia Tsenin	1998–2017
Dorothy von Beroldingen	1998–1999
Lillian Kwok Sing	1997–2015
Barbara J. R. Jones	1992–1996
William J. Cahill	1991–2000
Donna J. Hitchens	1991–2010
Carlos T. Bea	1990–2003
Jerome T. Benson	1990–2012
David A. Garcia	1990–2003
Donald S. Mitchell	1990–2018
Alex Saldamando	1990–2005
Paul H. Alvarado	1989–2006
Lenard D. Louie	1989–2004
Douglas C. Munson	1989–2002
Alfred G. Chiantelli	1986–2002
Ina Levin Gyemant	1986–2001
Fern M. Smith	1986–1988
Raymond D. Williamson	1985–1998
Frank Hart	1984–1989
Maxine M. Chesney	1983–1995
Lucy Kelly McCabe	1983–1999
Jay A. Pfotenhauer	1983–1983
Roy L. Wonder	1983–1994
Jack K. Berman	1982–1992
Isabella H. Grant	1982–1997
Stuart Robert Pollak	1982–2002
Daniel H. Weinstein	1982–1989
Richard P. Figone	1981–1996
Raymond J., Jr. Arata	1980–1998
John Anthony Kline	1980–1982
Edward Stern	1980–1994
John E. Dearman	1979–2009
Ollie Marie-Victoire	1979–1994
Francis McCarty	1978–1978
Thomas J. Dandurand	1974–1994
Claude D. Perasso	1974–1991
Victor M. Campilongo	1972–1990
William E. Mullins	1972–1986
John A. Ertola	1971–1991
Frank W. Shaw	1971–1989
Ira A., Jr. Brown	1970–1991
Morton R. Colvin	1970–1990
Donald B. Constine	1969–1985
Lawrence S. Mana	1969–1984
Francis W. Mayer	1969–1985
Leland J. Lazarus	1965–1974
Joseph Karesh	1961–1978

How a judge reaches this court. Judges of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco are appointed by the governor to 12-year terms and then face yes-or-no retention elections. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any judge to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data last verified 2026-06-30. Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).