Justice Laurie M. Earl Confirmed To The Third Appellate District

and shared insight into Justice Earl’s personal life. During time as an attorney and trial judge, Justice Earl was raising two sons, Josh and Sam, with her partner, and now wife, Jody Cooperman. Their older son, Josh, remembers being on a family road trip when the short time frame opened for his parents to marry. They asked their sons what they thought. The boys response: “YEAH, totally.” It was a go, and the wedding took place in their Sacramento backyard. Jody characterizes her wife as the goal-directed stable force of the family. Her younger son, Sam, describes his mom as “an all-around joyful person. She deals with so many hard things in her job every day, but she still comes home with that light.”

Many supporters noted her diverse background and the strong work ethic she brings to the court. After obtaining a B.A. in Political Science at UC Berkeley in 1983, she worked full time while attending Lincoln Law School, earning her J.D. in 1988. Her first job out of law school was as an assistant public defender for the Sacramento County Office of the Public Defender for six years. She then moved to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, serving as a deputy district attorney for nine years. She served briefly as the Northern California Regional Director of the State Office of Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review, supervising attorneys and investigators in review of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s use-of-force incidents and internal policies and procedures. In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the Sacramento County bench.

Justice Earl’s 16 years on the trial bench were no less diverse, presiding over criminal trial departments and eventually becoming supervising judge for that department. In 2008, she was elected to serve as Assistant Presiding Judge, serving for two years, followed by her election as the court’s Presiding Judge. In addition to the range of administrative and procedural issues, she also dealt with personnel and labor negotiations attendant to the steep budget cuts that hit the courts following the Great Recession. After her term ended, she returned to a general trial assignment (criminal and civil matters). She identifies as one of her best experiences as a judge the four-year assignment in the Juvenile Dependency Department. Thereafter, she transferred to a mixed criminal and civil courtroom, presiding over criminal trials and handling civil writs, which permitted her to focus on more complex questions of law. She has shared her expertise with countless law students and judges through her teaching of Criminal Law and Procedure at Lincoln Law School since 2014, and multiple courses for judges through the California Judicial Education and Research (CJER) arm of the Judicial Council, including New Judge Orientations since 2013, and sessions on LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care.

Among the letters of support sent to the Commission, both Associate Justice Ronald B. Robie of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, and Judge Helena R. Gweon of the Sacramento County Superior Court, singled out Justice Earl’s extraordinary skill at devising systems to keep the court effectively functioning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her closing remarks to the Commission, Justice Earl said: “I share with our Governor the value that judges and justices should look like and have similar life experiences as the litigants who come before us in trusting us to resolve their conflict. The diverse fabric of our community demands as much and I believe lends trust between the judiciary and the public.”

Justice Earl’s new colleagues will be enriched by her company, wrote Judge Gweon. And former colleague, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, wrote that California will be well served with Justice Earl’s appointment to the Third Appellate District, expressing the heartfelt sentiment “Bravo for justice.”