New Appellate Justice Confirmed for Court Serving Fresno County

Judge Sonny S. Sandhu was confirmed two weeks ago to the Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeal. The confirmation came by unanimous vote of California’s Commission on Judicial Appointments, a three-member body chaired by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero.

Sandhu fills the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Rosendo Peña, Jr. He has served as a Stanislaus Superior Court judge since 2018, most recently as presiding judge for the past year.

Before joining the bench, Sandhu worked at the Stanislaus County Public Defender’s Office for 15 years — as public defender from 2017 to 2018, chief deputy public defender from 2015 to 2017, and deputy public defender from 2003 to 2015. He received his law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law.

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The commission also confirmed three other appellate justices the same day, filling vacancies in Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Jose.

The Breakdown

• Sandhu’s confirmation was one of four appellate appointments confirmed by the commission on the same day.
• All four appointees were nominated by Governor Gavin Newsom, who is in his final months in office.
• The confirmation process requires a unanimous vote by a three-member commission: the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and an Administrative Presiding Justice from the relevant appellate district.

What This Means for You

Appellate justices are appointed by the governor and confirmed by this commission. Sandhu’s 15 years as a public defender means the court now includes a voice with direct experience representing people who couldn’t afford private counsel. That background matters when the court decides whether a trial was fair, whether evidence was properly handled, or whether someone’s constitutional rights were protected.

What to Watch

Appellate courts don’t retry cases or hear new evidence — they review whether the trial court applied the law correctly. That means the justices who sit on these courts effectively set the rules every other court in the district has to follow. A former public defender brings a perspective shaped by years of seeing how the justice system works for people without resources — whether that translates into appellate opinions that question prosecutorial overreach, scrutinize plea-bargain pressure, or challenge evidence standards will show up in the cases this court decides over the next several years.