Tuesday, December 16, 2025
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Five Superior Court Judges to Retire in Early 2026
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Five Los Angeles Superior Court judges—Holly J. Fujie, Gail Killefer, Timothy Martella, Craig Richman, and Chestopher L. “Chet” Taylor—are planning to retire early next year.
Richman’s last day on the bench will be the first court day of the new year, Jan. 2. After using earned vacation days, he will officially depart Feb. 20.
Next to leave, on Jan. 5, will be Taylor. His official retirement date will be Feb 20.
Fujie, Killefer, and Martella will actually leave their posts Jan. 9. The official dates are Feb. 28 for Fujie, Jan. 23 for Killefer, and Feb. 24 for Martella.
Additionally, Judge Shellie Samuels’ last day on the bench was Dec. 5, 2025 and she retired on that date.
15-Year Tenure
Then-Gov. Jerry Brown on Dec 27, 2011, announced his appointment of Fujie to the bench. At the time, she had been equity shareholder in Buchalter Nemer since 1991.
She had served as president of the State Bar in 2008-09. Although generally referred to as being the first Asian-American to hold that post, Karen Nobumoto, now deceased, who was elected president in 2001, was half Asian American; her father was of Japanese descent.
In her inaugural address as president, Fujie described herself as “a ‘Northern California-born, Southern California-practicing, Methodist minority woman partner in a majority law firm with a Catholic Caucasian husband in a small firm and two half-Asian kids, raised in a black neighborhood and living in a white one.”
Her husband, Lee Cotugno, retired from law practice last year.
Fujie was a recipient this year of the American Bar Foundation’s Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award.
A graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law , she is a past president of the Berkeley Law Alumni Association.
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HOLLY J. FUJIE Superior Court judge |
Fujie remarked:
“I have not decided what I am going to do after I retire, except to travel more and to take time to decompress from this wonderful but incredibly stressful job.
“My fondest memories of service on the Superior Court all revolve around my wonderful colleagues and the amazing staff that serve the court. The finest people in the world work for the Los Angeles Superior Court and I have been privileged to work among them.
“I single out for praise the Community Outreach staff, especially Sylvia White-Irby, Marlow Gory and Sandra Gray, who keep the court connected with the world, and my amazing judicial assistant, Oscar Chavez.”
Brown Appointees
Killefer and Martella are also appointees of then-Gov. Jerry Brown. The selection of Killefer was announced on Jan 2, 2019, and that of Martella was made public on Dec 14, 2018.
At the time of her appointment, Killefer was director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a position he held since 2010. She is a graduate of the Vermont Law School.
Killefer said yesterday:
“It has been a great privilege to serve on the Superior Court. I am grateful to my colleagues who have been so helpful along the way. I appreciate the court’s hardworking staff, who have been endlessly supportive. I especially thank my courtroom assistant, research attorney and judicial assistant, who I have worked with throughout my seven-year tenure with the court. I could not have done my job without their patience and skill—and good humor.”
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GAIL KILLEFER Superior Court judge |
She went on to reflect:
“I have loved running my courtroom and I especially loved jury trials. Juries have an amazing ability to figure things out and get things right, most of the time.”
The judge advised:
“One project I took pleasure in contributing to is the court’s development of the Mediation Volunteer Program (MVP). The MVP was the vision of Judge Jessner and, with the strong support of Presiding Judge Tapia and the tireless efforts of Kerry Bigornia (the ADR administrator) and her staff, there are now over 200 active attorney mediators on the panel.
“The court has made over 5300 referrals to the MVP in a little over a year. Many civil cases have settled as a result of the MVP, which is a significant assist to the [independent calendar] courts and the litigants.”
As to her plans, Killefer said:
“I will take a little time to reset—with travel, time with friends and family, and exercise—and then sort out how I can continue to contribute.”
Martella had been a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner since 2015, and was in private practice for 34 years before that.
His law degree is from the University of West Los Angeles.
Chosen by Schwarzenegger
Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Richman on Dec. 2, 2005, and selected Taylor on June 30, 2010.
Richman, who has a degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, was a deputy district attorney at the time a judgeship was conferred on him, a post he gained in 1986. He drew controversy in connection with being charged with misdemeanor battery, stemming from a tiff with a passerby who tossed dog feces in his car, but was acquitted on Feb. 6, 2014.
Taylor’s law degree is from UCLA. When appointed to the court, he had been in private practice for nearly 20 years.
Samuels was appointed by Schwarzenegger on Feb 18, 2010. Her law degree is from Loyola.
She was a deputy district attorney for 25 years and in 1993 became the first woman to be named by her office as Prosecutor of the Year.
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