Judge Erica Yew
San Jose, CA
Appointed by the Judicial Council of California
Current Term Extends through June 30, 2030
Governor Gray Davis appointed Erica Yew, a San Jose native, to the California Superior Court on October 2, 2001. Judge Yew is the first Asian-American female to sit on the Santa Clara County bench, serving on this court from 2001 to January 23, 2026. An ALF Senior Fellow with Class XV, she joined American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley as its CEO on February 1, 2026.
Judge Yew is the only jurist in the history of California’s judiciary to have served in all of the following roles: President of the California Judges Association (CJA), Chair of the California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP), and a member of the California Judicial Council, the California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions, and the California Access to Justice Commission, as well as serving on the board of the National Center for State Courts.
In May 2019, Judge Yew was unanimously appointed by the California Supreme Court to the Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions, where she served until January 2026. She was a member of the California Commission on Judicial Performance from December 2010 to April 2019, chairing the CJP for two and a half years. From 2009 to 2012, Yew was part of the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the California Courts. She returned to the Judicial Council in 2023 in her capacity as President of the California Judges Association, becoming the sixth woman to lead the organization in its 95-year history.
In July 2014, Judge Yew was appointed to the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness, serving until September 2021. Judge Yew has been a member of the California Access to Justice Commission since July 2014. Additionally, she served on the board of the National Center for State Courts from 2021 to 2025. She co-chaired and co-founded the CJA Mindfulness and Wellness Committee, which helped create a resource website to support professional wellness for judges nationwide. Judge Yew is also a co-chair of the California Judicial Mentor Program, a statewide judicial mentoring initiative established by Governor Gavin Newsom, Judicial Appointment Secretaries Martin Jenkins and Luis Céspedes, and the judiciary.
Beyond her legal career, community service is a vital part of Judge Erica Yew’s life. The following is a representative sample of her awards that highlight her long-standing commitment to service: In 1990, the Santa Clara County Bar Association (SCCBA) named her Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. The California State Bar awarded Judge Yew the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services in 1991. In 1995, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the Human Relations Commission honored Yew with the Award of Special Merit for her community service. The Honorable Zoe Lofgren entered Yew’s name in the United States Congressional Record in 1995 in recognition of her volunteer efforts. In January 2001, Yew received an award from the Avanti Foundation for her volunteerism. In March 2002, the Asian Law Alliance presented her with its Distinguished Recognition Award. In November 2002, she received a Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
In September 2003, Judge Yew was recognized by the SCCBA Women Lawyers Committee, and in January 2005, she received the SCCBA Justice Byrl R. Salsman Award for her long-term contributions to the legal profession. On March 14, 2005, California Assembly member Rebecca Cohen named Yew Woman of the Year for District 24. In March 2006, Yew received the Juliette Gordon Low Award from the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County. In May 2008, AACI honored her with a Community Star Award. The San Jose Business Journal named Yew a 2009 Woman of Influence in Silicon Valley. In July 2009, she received an Opening Doors to Justice Award from the Public Interest Clearinghouse, now known as One Justice. In November 2010, Yew earned an Access to Justice Award from the Pro Bono Project for her work in domestic violence cases.
In November 2011, Judge Yew received the Diversity Award from the SCCBA, and in 2014 she was awarded the prestigious John W. Gardner Leadership Award by the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley for demonstrating the core values of diversity, inclusiveness, civility, engagement, and respect. In 2015, Yew was named Trial Judge of the Year by the Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association and was honored by the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus for her contributions in the field of law. In 2016, she was recognized as Outstanding Jurist of the Year by the SCCBA, and in 2017, she received the Legal Impact Award from the Asian Law Alliance.
In 2017, Judge Yew was honored with the Judicial Council’s Distinguished Service Award, one of the highest accolades given in the California judicial branch. She is the recipient of the California Women Lawyers Rose Bird Memorial Award for 2023. In March 2024, Yew received a lifetime achievement award from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. In 2025, she was recognized by the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Board with a Behavioral Health Community Hero Award. Additionally, in 2025, Yew received several awards, including the Woman of Impact Award from Notre Dame High School, the Catalyst for Change Award from City Team Ministries, and the Drum Major Award from the African American Community Service Agency. Upon her retirement from the Superior Court, she also received a Commendation from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Judge Yew has taught on various topics, including judicial ethics, working with self-represented litigants, eliminating bias, language access, and collaborative courts. She has instructed through organizations such as the California Judicial Education and Research program (CJER), Children and Family Futures, the Rutter Group, the California Judges Association, the National Center for State Courts/Center for Judicial Ethics, the National Judicial College, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. She served on CJER’s Curriculum Working Group for QE6, QE7, and QE8, and her scripts were adopted for presentation in the QE7 and QE8 programs.
Judge Yew is a Past President of the California Asian-American Judges Association and the NAPABA Judicial Council, the national association for Asian-American judicial officers. She has also served on the national board for ReSurge (formerly known as Interplast), which provides reconstructive cleft palate and burn surgeries worldwide, as well as on the Santa Clara County Law Library Board and the Santa Clara County Child Abuse Council. In 2008 and 2009, Yew chaired the Good Samaritan Hospital Board and served on the hospital’s Bioethics Committee. From 2008 to 2011, she chaired her court’s Community Outreach Committee, where she instituted Girl Scouts Day at Court and Pre-Law Diversity Day.
In 2006, Judge Yew participated in the California State Bar and Santa Clara County Bar Association Pipeline Task Forces on Diversity, which planned the state’s first judicial conference on diversity on the bench. She has also served on the Advisory Committee for the State Bar’s Leadership Academy, a project of the bar’s Office of Legal Services, Access, and Fairness. That same year, Yew established Santa Clara County’s first collaborative workshop program for families dealing with domestic violence. This program, known as Domestic Violence Information and Resources (DVIR), offered resource fairs and educational opportunities for victims, perpetrators, and their children in multiple languages and at various locations, including homeless shelters, jails, schools, and community centers, for a decade.
As an attorney, Erica Yew served as a District Three Representative on the California State Bar Board of Governors, now known as the California State Bar Board of Trustees. She is a past president of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Silicon Valley and has served on the boards of various organizations, including the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley, the Asian Law Alliance, Legal Aid Society, and the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services. Within the Santa Clara County Bar Association, she co-chaired the Judiciary Committee and chaired the Minority Access Committee. Furthermore, Yew served on then-Attorney General Lockyer’s Blue Ribbon Commission on SWAT Policies and Practices. She has also been a board member of Child Advocates of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and served on the Advisory Commission for the Children’s Shelter.
As a Child Advocate for ten years, she volunteered through the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office to represent children in the dependency system. One of her advocate children is now a judge in Monroe County, New York, making history as the first African American female jurist to serve on her court after being elected in November 2018. In 1994, Yew founded a monthly program for toddlers at the Agnews Family Living Center, a homeless shelter, and coordinated this program for four years while practicing law.
Judge Yew earned her undergraduate degree with honors from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982 and her law degree from the University of California College of Law, San Francisco, in 1985.