Gov. Jerry Brown today appointed his legal affairs secretary, Jim Humes, to a post on the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco.
Humes, 53, a San Francisco resident, has been Brown’s executive secretary for legal affairs, administration and policy since 2011.
He previously served in several positions at the California attorney general’s office between 1993 and 2011. From 2007 to 2011, he was chief deputy state attorney general under Brown, who was then the attorney general.
The appointment must be confirmed by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments, made up of state Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Senior Court of Appeal Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline.
If confirmed, Humes will be the first openly gay justice to serve on the state appeals court, according to Brown’s office.
Humes earned his law degree from the University of Denver, his college degree from Illinois State University and a master of social science degree from the University of Colorado.
Before joining the California Attorney General’s Office, Humes worked in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and in private practice.
The San Francisco-based First District Court of Appeal is one of six regional appeals courts in the state.
It hears appeals from trial courts in 12 counties in the Bay Area and northern coastal California.
The court has 20 justices, who consider appeals in panels of three.
Julia Cheever, Bay City News
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