Joanne Motoike, Associate Justice
Justice Joanne Motoike was nominated to the 4th District Court of Appeal, Division 3, by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 2, 2022. She was rated “exceptionally well qualified” for the position by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California. On June 16, 2022, she was confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments.
Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeal, Justice Motoike was assigned to the Orange County Juvenile Court and served as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court from 2018 to 2022 during which time she was responsible for the administration of the county’s juvenile justice and child welfare courts, services, and programs. From 2013 to 2015, she was assigned to the Stephen K. Tamura - West Justice Center where she presided over adult criminal matters.
In 2021, Justice Motoike was honored with the Judicial Excellence Award by the Orange County Asian American Bar Association, the Honorable Roger B. Robbins Judge of the Year Award by the North Orange County Bar Association, and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Award of Distinction by the Orange County Department of Education.
Prior to her judicial appointment by Governor Brown in 2013, Justice Motoike worked as a senior deputy public defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office. She was also a trial attorney with the United Nations, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2006 to 2008 and a deputy public defender at the Orange County Public Defender’s Office from 1994 to 2006. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine.
Justice Motoike currently serves on the Education Committee of the California Asian - Pacific American Judges Association.