A second-generation Korean-American judge has been elected as Vice President of the California Judges Association (CJA), an organization of California judges.
The CJA announced on May 7 the election of Judge Tony Cho of the Los Angeles County Superior Court as Vice President of the organization. The announcement also included the election of Judge Khymberli S. Apaloo of the San Bernardino Superior Court as President, during the organization’s Executive Board meeting on May 3.
In addition to Cho, Judge Jeffrey Kaufman of Solano Superior Court and Judge Jennifer Gerard of Riverside Superior Court were elected Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer, respectively.
The new board will be sworn in and assume their duties after the oath of office at the CJA’s annual meeting in San Diego this fall.
Judge Cho is a former Los Angeles County District Attorney who was elected to the bench in the November 6, 2018, election. His wife, Esther Kim, also a former California District Attorney, was appointed to the bench by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 25, 2019, making them the first Korean-American couple to serve on the bench. Judge Cho’s father is former Cerritos Mayor Joseph Cho.
The CJA, meanwhile, is a nonprofit association representing the interests of the state’s judiciary. Its membership includes both superior and appellate court judges, as well as judges and retired judges from the surrounding bar associations. It is governed by a 25-member administrative board with elected representatives from 12 districts, the appellate courts, and retired judges.
BY NICOLE CHANG, JUNHAN PARK [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
