CA Bar #: 241143 (December 2005)
Appointed By: Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
The Hon. Eran M. Bermudez is an associate justice of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, in California[1]. Bermudez was appointed to that court by Governor Gavin Newsom on April 16, 2026[2].
Before joining the Court of Appeal, former Governor Jerry Brown appointed Bermudez to the Imperial County Superior Court in October 2018[3]. That appointment filled the vacancy created when Ruth B. Montenegro became a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California[3]. Her assignments on that court included criminal matters[4]. In 2024, she served as assistant presiding judge[4]. Bermudez later served as presiding judge[1]. In 2025, the California Supreme Court appointed her as a special master in proceedings initiated by the Commission on Judicial Performance[1].
Bermudez earned a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Irvine, in 2002[1]. At the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, she completed a J.D. in 2005. She was admitted to the State Bar of California (December 2005).
After graduating from law school, Bermudez began her legal career as an associate with Best Best & Krieger LLP (2005 to 2011)[1]. In 2011, she joined Garcia Hernandez Sawhney LLP as a partner and remained there until 2016[1]. During that period, she practiced alongside her sister Nadia P. Bermudez. Bermudez then transitioned to the University of California, San Diego, as a complaint resolution officer in the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, serving from 2016 to 2018[1].
Memberships have included the San Diego County Bar Association, the La Raza Lawyers Association of California, and Lawyers Club of San Diego. Bermudez later served as past president of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association and the SDLRLA Scholarship Fund[1]. Her professional service has also included the advisory board for the Chief Justice's Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative and a board position with the Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association[1].
Born and raised in the Imperial Valley, Bermudez attended public schools there[1]. Her sister Ruth B. Montenegro also pursued a legal career. Outside the courtroom, she has mentored young people through the Imperial County Mock Trial program and the Imperial County Migrant Speech and Debate Program[1]. Her personal interests have included reading, running, traveling, and spending time with family and friends[1]. Bermudez is registered as a Democrat[1].
[1] California Courts — Biography of Justice Eran M. Bermudez
[2] Governor Newsom Announces Updated Judicial Appointments
[3] Imperial Valley News — Governor Brown Appoints Eran Marie Bermudez to a Judgeship in the Imperial County Superior Court
[4] Imperial County Superior Court — 2024 Judicial Assignments
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