Judge Mark K. Hanasono: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

Overview

The Hon. Mark K. Hanasono is an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three[1]. Hanasono was nominated to that court by Governor Gavin Newsom in May 2025 and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments in June 2025[1].

Before joining the Court of Appeal, Hanasono served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2013 to 2025[1]. Former Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to that court on December 27, 2013, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Stephanie Sautner[2]. His superior court assignments centered on the Criminal Division[1]. He served as assistant supervising judge of the Criminal Division, Limited Jurisdiction Courts, from 2018 to 2019 and as assistant supervising judge of the Criminal Division from 2020 to 2022[1]. Hanasono also sat on assignment as a judge pro tem of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Three, in 2019 and 2024[1].

Educational background

Hanasono earned a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa[1]. At Georgetown University Law Center, in Washington, D.C., he completed a J.D.[1]. He was admitted to the State Bar of California (December 1999).

Career history

After law school, Hanasono served as a law clerk to Stephanie Duncan-Peters at the District of Columbia Superior Court from 1999 to 2000[1]. In 2000, Hanasono joined the Office of the Los Angeles County Public Defender as a deputy public defender, representing indigent adult and juvenile clients until 2004[1]. He then moved to the Office of the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender, where he represented indigent clients in felony cases, including capital cases, from 2004 to 2013[1]. During that period, Hanasono served as a team leader supervising felony attorneys[1].

Beyond courtroom practice, Hanasono taught as a lecturer in law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and served on the faculty of the Center for Judicial Education and Research and the Los Angeles Superior Court's Judicial Education Seminars program[1]. He also instructed for Continuing Education of the Bar, California, where he taught felony sentencing. His publications have appeared in the Asian American Law Journal, the State Bar of California's Criminal Law Journal, and the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly[1].

Personal life

Hanasono is Japanese American. Outside judicial work, his activities have included participation in the Japanese American Bar Association.

Hanasono is registered as a Democrat.

References

[1] California Courts — Biography of Mark K. Hanasono
[2] Metropolitan News-Enterprise (December 30, 2013)