Fresno County Superior Courthouse, 1100 Van Ness Ave, Fresno on March 2, 2021. JOHN WALKER FRESNO BEE FILE
A former prosecutor turned defense attorney and a senior lawyer with the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office will compete for one of the open judge positions in Fresno County.
Jeff Hammerschmidt was the top vote getter in the June primary, with 48.90% of the vote. His challenger, Jose Salazar, received 35.62% of the vote.
Hammerschmidt has worked on both sides of the legal fence in his long career. He began his career as an associate attorney at McCormick Barstow, LLP in Insurance Coverage and Insurance Defense. And then served more than 12 years as a deputy district attorney in Fresno County.
He is the founding and managing attorney at Hammerschmidt Law Corp., where he practices criminal defense.
His endorsements include Mayor Jerry Dyer, Sheriff John Zanoni and retired Sheriff Margaret Mims.
Jeff Hammerschmidt
Salazar is a native of Sanger and has been practicing law for 14 years.
He is the senior defense attorney on the major crimes team at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office.
In his campaign material, Salazar credits his working-class roots, immigrant background and role as a public defender for motivating him to run for judge.
His endorsements include labor leader Dolores Huerta, State Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula and Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias.
Jose Salazar
This story was originally published October 1, 2026 at 6:06 AM.
The Fresno Bee
A Valley native, Robert has worked at The Fresno Bee since 1994, covering various topics including education, business, courts and agriculture.