Brown nominates longtime aide for Court of Appeal

Gov. Jerry Brown has named a longtime aide, Jim Humes, as a First District Court of Appeal associate justice.

If confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, the 53-year-old Democrat will fill the vacancy created by retired Justice Patricia Sepulveda and become the first openly gay justice to serve on the California Court of Appeal.

The job pays $204,599 per year. The court is based in Humes' hometown of San Francisco.

Humes' résumé includes a 19-year state career, most recently as the Brown administration's executive secretary for legal affairs.

As California's attorney general, Brown named Humes his chief deputy in 2007, capping a Justice Department career that started in 1993 and included leadership positions in its civil division and health, education and welfare section.

After earning his law degree from the University of Denver, Humes worked for two Colorado-based law firms, with stints in the Colorado Attorney General's Office from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1987 to 1993. He also holds a master's degree in social science from the University of Colorado and a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University.