Justice Charles S. Poochigian was appointed to the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2009.  His legal career began in 1975 when he formed a partnership with Steven M. Vartabedian.  His practice consisted of representing clients in both litigation and transactional matters involving real estate, contracts, general business counseling, wills and probate. Following 13 years of private practice in Fresno, he was appointed to the senior staff of Governor George Deukmejian in 1988 and was later named to the senior staff of Governor Pete Wilson for whom he served as Appointments Secretary. As Appointments Secretary, he assisted the Governor in his appointments of key executive branch officials and members of state boards and commissions. His primary focus was assisting the Governor in his selection of judges for California's trial and appellate courts.

In 1994, he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served from 1994-1998. He then served two terms in the California State Senate (1998-2006). While in the Legislature, he distinguished himself for his substantial legislative and policy work covering a wide range of subject matter, including criminal justice, education reform, workers' compensation law, taxation, agriculture, budget, environment and natural resources. He held numerous leadership positions including service as Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee in his first term, chair of the Constitutional Amendments Committee, a member of the Little Hoover Commission and Vice-Chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, among many other committee leadership roles and assignments.

Following his legislative service and prior to his appointment to the bench, he practiced law with Dowling, Aaron and Keeler in Fresno, principally representing clients on matters involving regulatory issues.

Background and Education

• Born in Fresno, California, and a third generation resident of the San Joaquin Valley
• Married to wife, Debbie; three adult children and four grandchildren
• J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law, 1975
• Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, California State University, Fresno, 1972
• Served in the California Air National Guard
• Member, California Fair Employment and Housing Commission (1985 - 1987)

Accomplishments and Recognition

During his legislative career as an Assemblyman and Senator, Justice Poochigian authored or co-authored major laws including reforming California's workers' compensation law, reforming the Cal Grant student aid system (Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program), improving parental access to reliable information about school performance, providing comprehensive reform of the special education funding system, establishing the California Summer School for Math and Science (COSMOS), establishing the model Rural Crime Prevention Program serving Central California and founding the Kenneth L. Maddy Institute at CSU Fresno. He also worked to strengthen California laws related to identity theft.

Justice Poochigian received numerous special awards during his legislative tenure. He was named "Rookie of the Year" in his first term and received other recognition from the well-respected California Journal during his career, including its 2004 Minnie Award for legislative integrity. In 2004, he received the California State University, Fresno, Distinguished Alumnus “Top Dog” Award.

Board Memberships and Community Involvement

• Commission for Impartial Courts - Task Force on Judicial Selection and Retention by appointment of Ronald M. George, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and Chair of the California Judicial Council.
• Commission on the Future of California’s Court System (Futures Commission) by appointment of Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and Chair of the California Judicial Council (2014-2017)
• Past board member of the Economic Development Corporation of Fresno County.
• Past board member and vice-chair of the Maddy Institute for Public Policy at California State University, Fresno
• California State University, Fresno, Alumni Association - Life member
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Fresno County - Board of Trustees
• Past board member of Ag One Foundation (supporting CSU Fresno College of Agriculture)

Justice Meehan was nominated to be an Associate Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeal by Governor Brown in December 2016 and was confirmed by the Commission of Judicial Appointments on February 9, 2017.

Justice Meehan obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis, in 1985. Following graduation from law school, Justice Meehan entered private practice in Los Angeles with an emphasis in large-scale securities and business litigation before returning home to Fresno and family in 1994. She joined the law firm of Baker, Manock & Jensen where she shortly thereafter became a shareholder and practiced as a litigator in the areas of securities, business, agriculture, and estates as well as civil appeals; she received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. After more than 12 years with the firm, Justice Meehan pursued her goal of practicing in the public sector and joined the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General in 2008, representing public agencies in complex and constitutional litigation.

In 2011, Justice Meehan was selected by the Fresno County Superior Court as a Commissioner, and in 2014, she was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court as a judge.

At the time of her selection as a Commissioner, Justice Meehan was the President-Elect of the Fresno County Bar Association, having served in several offices on the Board of Directors and assisted in the establishment of the appellate and pro bono sections of the local bar. She served as President of Fresno County Women Lawyers and received the distinguished Justice Pauline Davis Hanson Award in 2011. Justice Meehan also served as President of the Board of Directors of Central California Legal Services. She received from CCLS the Champions of Justice Award, Judicial Category, in 2013, and was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2004. In addition, Justice Meehan received the Statewide Board Member of the Year Award from Legal Aid Associations of California in 2006. She was a Commissioner on the California State Bar Legal Services Trust Fund Commission from 2008–2011, and a Member of the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services from 2003–2006. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations from 2004–2007, and a delegate representing the Fresno County Bar Association from 2003–2008. Justice Meehan has also participated in a variety of local committees, educational panels, and seminars.

Justice Meehan grew up in Fresno with her parents and three siblings and attended Fresno schools from kindergarten through high school graduation. She earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Saint Mary’s College of California, where she received the De La Salle Medal (School of Liberal Arts’ highest honor) and the Thomas Jefferson Award (Government Department’s highest honor). She has been married to her college sweetheart, Allen, since 1981.

Justice Thomas DeSantos was born in Hanford in 1956.  He graduated from Hanford High School in 1974 and Stanford University in 1978.  He received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1981 from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

Justice DeSantos was admitted to the practice of law in California on December 1, 1981.  He was also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court.

After graduation, Justice DeSantos returned to his hometown of Hanford and began the private practice of law with Kahn, Soares and Conway (1981-1983), Farley, Rynda & DeSantos et al. (1984-1993), and as a sole practioner (1994-2003).  Initially, he practiced in criminal law and then later expanded into a general law practice focusing on family, juvenile, and governmental law.

Upon appointment by Governor Gray Davis, DeSantos was sworn in as a Kings County Superior Court Judge on October 24, 2003.  While on the superior court, Judge DeSantos initially was assigned to the Hanford court where he handled criminal cases from arraignment, pretrials, preliminary hearings, and sentencings and limited civil cases.  Judge DeSantos also presided over the Avenal and Corcoran courts on Thursdays and Fridays consisting of a prison criminal calendar as well as a regular criminal calendar and limited civil cases.  From 2005-2007, Judge DeSantos presided over the Lemoore court handling family law, conservatorship, domestic violence, and juvenile dependency cases.  In 2008, until his appointment, Judge DeSantos was assigned to a general trial department handling all criminal cases from arraignment through trial and sentencing as well as unlimited civil cases from law and motion to trial and posttrial matters.

Judge DeSantos was selected as the Assistant Presiding Judge (2011-2012) and then elected as Presiding Judge of the Kings County Superior Court for three years (2012-2014).  During this time, Judge DeSantos assisted in the design and development of the new Kings County Superior Court, which brought all courthouse and judicial officers together in one building.

As a member of the judiciary, Judge DeSantos served on statewide committees for the Judicial Council of California, which included the Access of Fairness Advisory Committee (11/1/2011-10/31/14), Trial Court Budget Advisory Committee (7/11/13-9/14/15), Trial Court Presiding Judges Advisory Committee (1/1/13-12/31/15), and various other subcommittees.

On June 27, 2018, Justice DeSantos was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on July 26, 2018.

Justice Mark Snauffer was raised in Fresno and attended Fresno public schools. He attended Claremont McKenna College, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with high honors in political science, from UC Berkeley in 1974. Justice Snauffer graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1977, where he served on the Moot Court Executive Board and the staff of the UCLA-Alaska Law Review.

He was admitted to the California Bar in 1977 and began practicing law with the Fresno firm of McCormick Barstow from 1977-1980. Justice Snauffer moved to Sacramento and practiced with the firm of Hefner, Stark & Marois from 1980-1982, when he returned to Fresno and joined the firm of Baker, Manock & Jensen, where he was an associate and shareholder until his appointment to the Fresno County Superior Court in March 2000.

Justice Snauffer specialized in civil litigation, with an emphasis on medical malpractice, legal malpractice, product liability, and general business litigation. He received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 1992.

As a member of the Fresno County Superior Court, Justice Snauffer twice served as the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division, from 2005-2007 and 2015-2018. He also was a criminal calendar and felony trial judge, and served on the appellate division of the court. Justice Snauffer was a member of the court’s Executive Committee from 2006-2013, and 2015-2017, and was the Chair of the court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution committee from 2005-2018.

Justice Snauffer has also been active in professional and community service. He was a member of the Fresno County Young Lawyer’s Board of Directors (1983-1985), the Fresno County Bar Association Board of Directors (1991-1993), the Foundation for Clovis Schools (1993-1997), the initial class of the Leadership Fresno program (1985), and the Board of Directors of California Legal Services, Inc. (1992-1994). Justice Snauffer has served on various committees of the Center for Judicial Education and Research (CJER) and, in particular, on the Civil Law Education Committee (2002-2008; Chair, 2005-2006). Justice Snauffer was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at San Joaquin College of Law from 2003-2007, where he taught Civil Trial Practice.

On June 27, 2018, Justice Snauffer was nominated as an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on July 26, 2018.

Justice Snauffer is married to Lynda, a retired school administrator, and they live in Fresno with their two Bichons, Jasmine and Lily.