Shelyna Brown J.D. ’96 was appointed as a judge to the South Bay’s 79-member bench by California Gov. Jerry Brown.

Shelyna Brown, 41, has been a public defender in San Jose since 1997. Like the governor, she is a Democrat. A graduate of Santa Clara University law school, Brown takes a seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Eugene Hyman. She will be one of four African-American judges on the local bench.