Petaluma Man Among 6 New Bay Area Judges Appointed By Gov. Brown

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — Gov. Jerry Brown appointed six new Bay Area judges Tuesday --
three in Alameda County Superior Court and one each in the Contra Costa, Santa Cruz and Sonoma county trial courts. The Bay Area jurists are among 25 new judges named by Brown statewide.

Christopher Honigsberg, 38, of Petaluma, a deputy Sonoma County district attorney since 2009, was appointed to the Sonoma County Superior Court. Before moving to the Bay Area, he served as a deputy district attorney in Tulare County for three years.

Leonard Marquez, 44, of Martinez, a lawyer in private practice, was appointed to the Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Alameda County Superior Court judges will be joined by Jason Clay, 48, of San Ramon, a court commissioner and former deputy public defender; James Reilly, 68, of Piedmont, a lawyer in private practice and former U.S. Navy officer; and Amy Sekany, 47, of Livermore.

Sekany served as the Alameda County Superior Court's family law facilitator and managing attorney of Self-Help Services since 2016. She was the managing attorney for the Eviction Defense Center in Oakland from 2014 to 2016 and from 2005 to 2009.

Timothy Schmal, 61, of Santa Cruz, will join the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Schmal has been a sole practitioner since 2014 and previously worked for several law firms.

By Bay City News Service

Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone