Governor Appoints New Judges In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE, CA — A Superior Court commissioner and a deputy public defender were appointed to judicial positions in Riverside County, the governor's office announced Friday.

Commissioner Kristi Hester, 47, of Palm Desert will fill a seat on the bench that has been funded but vacant since September 2019.

Hester, a Democrat, was a Riverside County deputy district attorney from 2005 to 2018, after which she received an appointment to serve as a commissioner hearing misdemeanor cases.

The governor aappointed Riverside County Deputy Public Defender Michelle Mathis, 40, of Menifee to a judicial seat also funded and vacant since September of last year.

Since 2008, Mathis, who is listed without party preference, has worked on juvenile cases, as a felony trial attorney and legal counsel in the Drug Court.

Both women will assume their respective places on the bench at the end of the year. Each will receive annual compensation of $214,601, according to the governor's office.

—City News Service