Gov. Gavin Newsom appoints two new judges in San Diego courts

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed two new judges to fill vacancies on the

San Diego Superior Court bench.

The new judges are

Toni Segura, who was a court commissioner when she was tapped, and Blair Soper, a longtime public defense attorney. Each spent several years working as public defense attorneys, and both are filling spots created by the retirements of judges.

San Diego Superior Court has spots for

135 judges. With the appointment of Segura and Soper, seven seats remain open. Several new judges have joined the bench in recent months, including four people elected to a seat following the November election.

Segura, who was sworn in Wednesday, had been serving as a commissioner in North County traffic court when she was appointed to a judge’s seat. She will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Desiree Brucelyle.

Early in her career, she worked as a deputy public defender at the Primary Public Defender’s Office starting there in 1996 and leaving in 2001. She later worked as a solo practitioner from 2004 until 2007.

In 2014, Segura became an associate at Skaja, Daniels, Lister & Permito LLP. She left three years later and returned to the Public Defender’s Office, where she worked for six years until her appointment as a court commissioner in 2023.

Segura earned her law degree from California Western School of

Law. She is registered without party preference, according to the Governor’s Office.

Soper is slated to take his oath as a judge on May 22 and will take the seat left vacant by the retirement of Judge Peter Gallagher.

Soper spent his career in the Public Defender’s Office, starting there in 2006.

He earned his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a Democrat, according to Newsom’s office.

Both new judges will start in a training rotation. It’s not clear what their assignments will be after that.

Annual compensation for judges in California is $238,479.