Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed a former prosecutor and chief deputy city attorney as a new judge on the San Diego Superior Court bench, his office announced this week.
San Diego resident Rebecca Zipp was selected to fill the vacancy created last year when now-Justice Jose Castillo was elevated to the 4th District Court of Appeal. The term runs through Jan. 3, 2027.
Rebecca Zipp
(Courtesy Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office)
Zipp will be sworn in next week. It’s not clear what her assignment will be.
Early last year, Zipp joined the litigation department of Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek in San Diego. A news release from the firm said her practice there would focus on complex business litigation and criminal defense.
Before joining the firm, she spent more than a decade as a prosecutor at the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
In 2016, she secured a conviction of attempted premeditated murder against Mike Montana, a house painter who in 2015 shot then-CBS8 sports anchor Kyle Kraska in front of Kraska’s Scripps Ranch home.
In 2019, Zipp moved to the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, where she served as a chief deputy city attorney for more than four years. While there, she oversaw the Domestic Violence and Sex Crimes unit.
Zipp earned her law degree from the New York University School of Law in 2007 and earned a master of science degree in education from Mercy University in New York state.
Zipp is a Democrat, according to Newsom’s office.
Annual compensation for judges is $238,479.
The appointment comes as four other new judges prepare to take bench following the March 5 primary election. Deputy District Attorneys Valerie Summers and Brian Erickson each bested an opponent to win open seats. Judicial primary candidates need to amass just over 50 percent of the vote to win their elections outright and avoid a November runoff.
Court Commissioners Rosy Meyerowitz and Kelly Mertsoc each won their respective races to be a judge. Each ran unopposed.
