Local private practice attorney Mason Brawley has been appointed to serve as a judge in the Merced County Superior Court, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Brawley is one of 18 Superior Court judges statewide appointed by Newsom on Friday. He fills a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David W. Moranda.
He will also be one of two new faces on the Merced County Superior court. Monika Saini-Donabed was elected to the court in the March primary, after winning a three-candidate race by 63%.
According to the release, Brawley has been a sole practitioner since 2023 and was a partner at law firm Murphy & Brawley from 2014 to 2022.
Brawley was an associate at Berliner Cohen from 2013 to 2014 and at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann from 2007 to 2013.
He was an external auditor for Ernst & Young from 2001 to 2004 and has been a licensed certified public accountant since 2004.
Brawley earned his law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and he’s registered without party preference.
Other judges appointed in San Joaquin Valley
Elsewhere in the San Joaquin Valley, Newsom appointed new judges to Superior Courts in Fresno and Kern counties.
Fresno Chief Assistant City Attorney Raj Singh Badhesha was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court.
He has served in the Fresno City Attorney’s Office since 2022 and has served in several roles there since 2012, the release said.
He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jon N. Kapetan. Badhesha is a Democrat, the release said.
Donald Griffith, who has served as a commissioner at the Kern County Superior Court since 2022, was appointed to serve in an interim appointment as a judge in that county. Griffith fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Stephen Schuett. Griffith is a Republican.
Judges on the Superior Court earn an annual salary of $238,479.
