Gov. Brown appoints new judges in Alameda and SF Counties

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown appointed new judges Wednesday to the superior court benches in Alameda and San Francisco counties.

In Alameda County, Brown appointed Arturo Castro, 42, of El Cerrito, who has served as a supervising attorney at the Judicial Council of California since 2012. He has held several positions at the council since 2007.

Castro previously was an associate at Chang Mattern in Pasadena from 2006 to 2007 and served as a deputy public defender in the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office from 1999 to 2005.

A Democrat, Castro earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law and a B.A. degree from UC Berkeley.

He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David M. Krashna.

In San Francisco, Brown appointed Christopher Hite, 46, of San Francisco, who has served as a deputy public defender in the county's Public Defender's Office since 1998.

Hite was a sole practitioner in private practice from 1996 to 1998 and a legal consultant for the San Francisco branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1996 to 1997.

Hite, who's also a Democrat, earned his law degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law, a masters' degree from Golden Gate University and a B.S. degree from Santa Clara University.

He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge James J. McBride.