Shasta public defender, deputy DA appointed to be California Superior Court judges

Shasta County will soon have two new judges sitting on its superior court.

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed public defender Kathryn Barton and prosecutor Benjamin Hanna, the Superior Court of California announced Friday.

Barton's prior appointment was Shasta County assistant public defender. She earned her juris doctoral degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1992. She also has a master's degree in social work from the University of Southern California. She has served as a public defender for 30 years, according to the announcement.

Hanna studied law at the University of San Francisco, graduating in 2000. He worked for the Shasta County District Attorney's office from 2001 until May, serving most recently as the Chief Deputy Attorney General in the criminal unit's special prosecution section, the announcement said.

The county has yet to determine dates when Barton and Hanna will start their new positions as judges, according to Court Executive Officer Melissa Fowler-Bradley.

The two appointments follow the retirement of two Superior Court judges last year. Judge Daryl Kennedy retired in July 2022 and Judge Cara Beatty retired in October 2022, leaving nine judges in place in Shasta County.

Shasta was one of 32 California counties waiting for judicial appointments to their superior courts, according to a Feb. 1 report from the Judicial Council of California. At that time, there were 99 openings for superior court judges in the state, the report said.

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More: California judge shortage impacts Shasta County Superior Court

California's judge shortage caused a trial backlog and led to cases — some of them felonies — being dismissed in other parts of the state, while in Shasta County, the shortage forced some trials to be delayed or dismissed, the Redding Record Searchlight reported in February.

Shasta County's court in Redding employs two court commissioners to help out case flow, the newspaper's report said. Those commissioners are licensed attorneys and are authorized to only hear certain cases, including those involving traffic, family law and probate.

Shasta County's court is also getting an assist from retired judges, under the Temporary Assigned Judges Program of the Judicial Council of California. Retired judges can come from anywhere in the state but are also in tight supply, said Fowler-Bradley.

Record Searchlight editor Michele Chandler contributed to this story.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Gov. Newsom appoints two Superior Court judges for Shasta County