Long Beach Woman Named Superior Judge by Governor

A Long Beach woman was appointed as an Orange County Superior Court judge Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Joanne Motoike, 45, of Long Beach, a Democrat, will be paid $178,789 annually.

She has been a senior deputy public defender for Orange County since 2008, and was a trial attorney at the United Nations Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2006 to 2008. She also served as a deputy public defender for Orange County from 1994 to 2006.

Motoike, who graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and got a bachelor of arts degree from UC Irvine, will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Superior Court Judge Nancy A. Pollard.