Overview:
Raj Singh Badhesha fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jon Kapetan.
Fresno’s chief assistant city attorney will join the Fresno County Superior Court bench following his recent appointment by the California governor.
Raj Singh Badhesha becomes the first ever Sikh to wear a judge’s robe in Fresno County and the first Sikh judge in California who observes the practice of wearing the Sikh headdress known as the dastar or pagri, Fresno city officials said.
In a joint statement with the Fresno City Attorney’s Office, Badhesha thanked Gov. Gavin Newsom and said he was “honored” by the appointment.
“My commitment to justice, coupled with my understanding of the legal system and the needs of our community, have prepared me to serve with integrity, fairness, and compassion,” Badhesha said in the statement. “I am glad to be able to represent a segment of our community that we don’t often see on the bench, and I appreciate the Governor’s commitment to diversity.”
Badhesha, a Democrat, joined the Fresno City Attorney’s Office in 2012 and was named chief assistant city attorney in 2022. Before that, Badhesha was an associate attorney at Baker Manock & Jensen from 2008 to 2012. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco.
Janz praised the appointment, calling Badhesha “my closest advisor.”
“Raj has all the qualities one hopes to find in a judge; he is open-minded, thoughtful, deliberate, well-researched, and diplomatic,” Janz said in the statement. “While his broad legal experience and expertise is going to be a big loss to the City of Fresno, there is not a more fitting individual to serve Fresno County and the State of California with honesty and integrity.”
Badhesha fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Jon Kapetan.
As a superior court judge, Badhesha’s salary will be $238,479, the governor’s office said.
He was one of more than a dozen judicial appointments Newsom’s office announced Friday, including one in Merced County and another in Kern County.
Attorney Mason Brawley was appointed to the Merced Superior Court bench, replacing David Moranda, who retired. Brawley is registered without preference to a political party.In Kern County, Commissioner Donald Griffith was named to the bench on an interim appointment. Griffith, a Republican, replaces Judge Stephen Schuett, who also retired.
