Deputy Yuma County Attorney Claudia González Jiménez has been appointed as a new Court Commissioner for the Yuma County Superior Court.
Court officials announced González Jiménez was appointed by County Superior Court Presiding Judge David Haws. The seat was left open by the retirement of Judge Kathryn Stocking-Tate who left the Yuma County Bench after more than 15 years of service.
The Yuma County Judicial Selection Committee convened on Saturday and selected from among four candidates- González Jiménez, Somerton City Attorney Jorge Lozano, Arizona Assistant Attorney General Eliza Johnson and Darci Weede, Yuma Justice of the Peace Pro Tempore.
The Judicial Selection Committee chose González Jiménez as the top candidate recommended to Judge Haws for appointment.
A date has not yet been set for González Jiménez to assume her new role as Commissioner. She is a graduate of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and has been a member of the Yuma County Attorney's Office since 2014. Before that, González Jiménez was a Yuma County Assistant Legal Defender and an immigration attorney for several years.
Some Yuma lawyers had asked Judge Haws to consider a female or a candidate of color to bring diversity to the bench as women and Latinos are underrepresented in the Yuma County Superior Court bench.
