Gonzalo Martinez, who has served as an Associate Justice on the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Seven since 2023, has been nominated to serve as the division’s Presiding Justice. Justice Martinez previously served as Deputy Judicial Appointments Secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom from 2019 to 2023, as a Deputy Solicitor General in the California Attorney General’s Office from 2017 to 2019 and was a Partner in the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group at Squire Patton Boggs from 2007 to 2017. Justice Martinez also served as a Law Clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 2010 and at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California in 2007. He was an Associate at Coblentz Patch Duffy and Bass LLP from 2005 to 2007 and at Morrison & Foerster LLP from 2003 to 2005. Justice Martinez earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a Master of Arts degree in English from Stanford University. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice Dennis M. Perluss. This position requires confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Senior Presiding Justice Arthur Gilbert