Gavin Newsom appoints two Fresno County lawyers to fill Superior Court judgeships
Two Fresno County veteran attorneys have been appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve as Fresno County Superior Court judges.
Stephanie L. Negin, 40, of Clovis, will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Debra J. Kazanjian and Virna L. Santos, 56, of Fresno will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Gary D. Hoff.
Santos has held a variety of positions during her career as a lawyer.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Santos served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1990 to 1993. She was a law clerk for the Honorable Gilberto Gierbolini at the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1995. And Santos served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California from 1995 to 2007.
Santos has been in private practice since 2014, specializing in criminal defense, immigration and civil rights.
Negin has served as a Senior Defense Attorney at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office since 2007. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.
“Public service and giving back to the community are ideas that were instilled in me from a very young age. Those ideas have become a large part of who I am as an adult,” Negin said. “The opportunity to serve my community — the place I was born, raised and love — is an honor and a blessing.”
Newsom appointed 17 new Superior Court judges Monday, including two in Fresno County; five in Los Angeles County; one in Merced County; three in Orange County; one in San Benito County; three in San Diego County; one in San Francisco County; and one in Ventura County.
Along with Negin and Santos, the governor has also appointed several other Fresno County Superior Court judge positions over the last two years, including Ryan Wells, Irene Luna and Charles Lee.
Fresno County Chief Assistant District Attorney Bob Whalen is also hoping to be a judge soon.
Whalen will on the June ballot for a Superior Court judge position. He is campaigning to fill the position left open by the retirement of Judge Denise Whitehead.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
