GOVERNOR APPOINTS NEW JUDGES TO

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Release Date: October 17, 2018

Contact: Marita C. Ford, Public Information Officer

RIVERSIDE COUNTY:

On October 11, 2018, Governor Edmund G. Brown announced the appointments of Emily A. Benjamini, Commissioner Kenneth J. Fernandez, and Eric A. Keen to vacant judgeships in the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.

Emily A. Benjamini, 51, of La Quinta, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court. Benjamini has been a sole practitioner since 2014. She was an attorney at Benjamini and Benjamini from 2005 to 2014 and at the Law Offices of Jenny L. Doling in 2005. Benjamini served as a deputy public defender at the Law Offices of the Riverside County Public Defender from 1996 to 2004 and was an associate at Slovak and Baron from 1994 to 1996 and at Lincoln, Gustafson and Cercos from 1992 to 1994. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Helios J. Hernandez.

Kenneth J. Fernandez, 52, of Anaheim, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court. Commissioner Fernandez has served as a commissioner at the Riverside County Superior Court since 2004. He served as a deputy district attorney at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 2004. Commissioner Fernandez earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He fills the vacancy of a new position created on July 1, 2018.

Eric A. Keen, 47, of Riverside, has been appointed to a judgeship in the Riverside County Superior Court. Keen has served as supervising deputy public defender at the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office since 2008, where he has served in several positions since 1997. He was an associate at Stephen H. Tyler, A Professional Law Corporation from 1995 to 1997. Keen earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Western State University College of Law, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Redlands and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Riverside. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Charles E. Stafford.

A state Judicial Needs Assessment has found that the Riverside Superior Court is in dire need of judgeships to help process the growing caseloads in its communities. The filling of these vacancies by Ms. Benjamini, Commissioner Fernandez, and Mr. Keen will greatly assist the Court’s goal in continuing to provide access to justice for court litigants.

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Electronic version available at: www.riverside.courts.ca.gov under Media Center.