Stanislaus County (Modesto)
Career Highlights: Nominated to the 5th District Court of Appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom, June 2026, confirmed August 2026; appointed to the Stanislaus County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown, 2018; public defender, Stanislaus and Sacramento counties
Law School: The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Career Highlights: Nominated to the 5th District Court of Appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom, June 2026, confirmed August 2026; appointed to the Stanislaus County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown, 2018; public defender, Stanislaus and Sacramento counties
Law School: The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
MODESTO — When he became the first Sikh bench officer in Stanislaus County, word of Judge Sandip S. Sandhu’s appointment traveled fast.
“My parents were getting phone calls from England and Canada ... They were hearing the news on Punjabi radio,” Sandhu said, referring to a region of India and Pakistan with the world’s largest concentration of adherents of the Sikh religion.
While it was... (continued)
