Gov. Gavin Newsom has nominated the presiding judge of Imperial County Superior Court to be an associate justice in the San Diego-based state appellate court.
Judge Eran Marie Bermudez has been on the bench in Imperial County since 2018. She is poised to become a member of the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 1, if her nomination is approved.
Before moving to the bench in Imperial County, Bermudez spent several years working at firms in San Diego.
Bermudez earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and has been a member of the state bar since 2005. That same year, she went to work as an associate at Best Best & Krieger in San Diego.
In 2011, she moved to Garcia Hernandez Sawhney, where she was later promoted to partner. The firm said in a news release at the time that she practiced general education law, public agency law and labor and employment law, and worked with the firm’s school district clients on “a variety of complex matters.”
In 2016, Bermudez went to work for UC San Diego as a compliance officer, and a few years later moved to the bench in Imperial County.
Bermudez is a Democrat. Her elevation to the appellate court would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Richard Huffman.
The position on the appellate court requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The commission — made up of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez — will consider her appointment at a May 22 hearing in San Francisco.
The annual salary for an associate justice is $280,052.