News and Events

Here's what's happening with OCAAJO and our Members ...

OCAAJO Life Member
Judge Fred Slaughter is nominated by President Joseph Biden, December 15, 2021, for appointment to the Federal District Court for the Central District of California.

Congratulations Judge Slaughter!

OCAAJO Member
Judge Maurice Sanchez is nominated by Governor Gavin Newsom, November 10, 2021, to serve as Associate Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Div. 3.

Congratulations Judge Sanchez!

OCAAJO President
Judge Karen L. Robinson is elected President of the California Judges Foundation. Administered by the CJA staff and supervised by a nine-person Board of Directors, the California Judges Foundation is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of an impartial judiciary for the administration of Justice in California.

Congratulations Judge Robinson!

OCAAJO Vice President
Judge Elizabeth G. Macias is awarded the 2021 CJA Justice Bernard Jefferson Excellence in Education Award for her work with co-awardee LA Judge Nicole Bershon on the CJA Diversity & Inclusivity Committee! She also is named CRF-OC's 2021 James P. Gray Judge of the Year!

Congratulations Judge Macias!

OCAAJO Member
United States Bankruptcy Judge
Erithe Smith is named
OCWLA's 2021 Judge of the Year
The award ceremony was October 19, 2021

Congratulations Judge Smith!

OCAAJO Member
Commissioner Scott Van Camp
is elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom, September 3, 2021, and is appointed Orange County Superior Court Judge

Congratulations Judge Van Camp!

OCAAJO Member
Commissioner Carmen Luege
is elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom, March 25, 2021, and is appointed Orange County Superior Court Judge

Congratulations Judge Luege!

Thank you!
... for joining us October 28, 2021 for the encore presentation of Justice Eileen Moore's "Race Results" program. Her use of Hollywood film clips and U.S. Supreme Court cases over the decades to examine the treatment of African Americans by Hollywood and the High Court was enlightening and informative!

On September 21, 2021, OCAAJO co-sponsored the OCBA's Racial Justice Task Force, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Affiliate Bar Associations' Webinar on Intersectionality: Personal Stories of Navigating Implicit Bias & Solutions. The Panel featured OCAAJO President, Judge Karen L. Robinson, Vice President, Judge Elizabeth Macias and Member at Large, Judge Tam Nomoto Schumann Ret.

Thank you for tuning in to the program!

Thank you for joining us at our first Community
Town Hall - June 24, 2021

And thank you to our Panelists:
OC Assistant Presiding Judge
Maria Hernandez
OC District Attorney
Todd Spitzer
OC Pubic Defender
Martin Schwarz
OC Sheriff
Don Barnes

OCAAJO co-sponsors OCWLA's Diversity on the Bench panel featuring
OCAAJO President Judge Karen L. Robinson, OCAAJO Vice President Judge Elizabeth G. Macias and Judge Joanne Motoike [not pictured]

May 14, 2021

OCAAJO issues
Statement Denouncing
attacks on AAPI Community

Read the full Statement below.

The Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers

Statement Denouncing Attacks on Asian American and Pacific Islanders

The Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers joins with California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye and the California Affinity Judicial Association Coalition in condemning the rise in attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the nation. Any violence, especially that based on prejudice, bias or fear of another is reprehensible. We agree that we can and must do better. We further join in the California Supreme Court’s June 11, 2020 Statement condemning racism in all its forms: conscious, unconscious, institutional, structural, historic and continuing. We, too, remain committed to providing fair and equal justice under the law for every person who appears before us regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or identity. We will vigilantly work to ensure that equality and inclusion is a reality for all, every day in our courts.

The Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers is committed to improving the administration of justice and promoting diversity in the legal profession through community outreach and educational programs.

News and Events

OCAAJO Life Member Judge Fred Slaughter is nominated by President Joseph Biden, December 15, 2021, for appointment to the Federal District Court for the Central District of California.

OCAAJO Member Judge Maurice Sanchez is nominated by Governor Gavin Newsom, November 10, 2021, to serve as Associate Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Div. 3.

OCAAJO Vice President Judge Elizabeth G. Macias is awarded the 2021 CJA Justice Bernard Jefferson Excellence in Education Award for her work with co-awardee LA Judge Nicole Bershon on the CJA Diversity & Inclusivity Committee! She also is named CRF-OC's 2021 James P. Gray Judge of the Year!

OCAAJO MemberUnited States Bankruptcy JudgeErithe Smith is namedOCWLA's 2021 Judge of the YearThe award ceremony was October 19, 2021

OCAAJO Member Commissioner Scott Van Camp is elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom, September 3, 2021, and is appointed Orange County Superior Court Judge

OCAAJO MemberCommissioner Carmen Luegeis elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom, March 25, 2021, and is appointed Orange County Superior Court Judge

Thank you for joining us at our first Community Town Hall - June 24, 2021

OCAAJO co-sponsors OCWLA's Diversity on the Bench panel featuring OCAAJO President Judge Karen L. Robinson, OCAAJO Vice President Judge Elizabeth G. Macias and Judge Joanne Motoike [not pictured]

OCAAJO issues Statement Denouncing attacks on AAPI Community