Thursday, May 14, 2026 • 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Hyatt Regency Sacramento • 1209 L St., Sacramento, CA 95814
SCBA proudly announces Associate Justice Elena J. Duarte as the 2026 Judge of the Year, recognizing her exemplary leadership, integrity, and commitment to the legal community.
Justice Duarte was confirmed as an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, on December 10, 2010. Prior to her elevation to the Court of Appeal, Justice Duarte was a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court (2007-2008) and a Judge of the Sacramento Superior Court (2008-2010).
Before her appointment to the Los Angeles Superior Court, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Los Angeles Office of the United States Attorney, where she worked first in the Major Frauds Section and later in the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, becoming Section Chief in 2005. Prior to her move to Los Angeles, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Sacramento and, before that, worked two years at the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as an Honor Graduate in the Attorney General’s Honor Program. She received her B.A. (in Italian) from the University of Southern California, where she also studied music, and her J.D. from Stanford Law School.
She was born and raised in San Jose, California, and currently lives in El Dorado County, one of the 23 counties within the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District.
*Law Student pricing is available for SCBA Student Members. SCBA Judge Pricing is available for SCBA Justices, Judges, and Subordinate Judicial Offers currently sitting on the bench. Join at no cost here or email admin@sacbar.org for assistance.
SCBA Judges of the Year
Every year since 1988, the SCBA has selected a member of the bench to receive its Judge of the Year Award. The selection, made by the SCBA Board of Directors, is based upon five criteria: commitment to principle of the SCBA Mission Statement (“To enhance the system of justice, the lawyers who serve it, and the community served by it”); commitment to fair and equitable administration of the courts; respected for legal abilities by fellow judges and attorneys who appear before him/her; known for appropriate judicial demeanor and lack of bias; and demonstrated service to the Sacramento community a large.
