Press Release
NEW PRESIDING JUDGE AND ASSISTANT PRESIDING JUDGE ANNOUNCED
Fairfield, California – The Superior Court of California, County of Solano is pleased to announce the election of the Honorable William J. Pendergast, III as the incoming Presiding Judge of the Court and the election of the Honorable Shauna L. Chastain as the incoming Assistant Presiding Judge of the Court beginning January 1, 2026.
Judge Alesia Jones, current Presiding Judge said, “Our incoming Presiding Judge William J. Pendergast, III and our incoming Assistant Presiding Judge Shauna L. Chastain are superb judicial officers, with a tremendous depth and breadth of legal experience, great intelligence, impeccable ethics, and devotion to the rule of law and access to justice. They will provide superb leadership of our bench and service to the legal community in the administration of justice.”
Judge William J. Pendergast, III, incoming Presiding Judge commented, “I look forward to having the opportunity to serve the citizens of Solano County as Presiding Judge of the Solano County Superior Court. The hard work of our judges and court staff will allow the Court to continue meeting its mandate of insuring justice for all.”
Judge William J. Pendergast, III earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings College of Law. Judge Pendergast worked as an associate with the law firm of Kilpatrick & Daniels from 1997 to 2002 and was a partner with Pendergast & Maher from 2002 to 2006 and Pendergast & Camarata from 2006 to 2008. He also worked as a sole practitioner, specializing in criminal defense, civil litigation, family law, personal injury and estates from 2008 to 2010. Judge Pendergast was a Deputy Public Defender with the Solano County Office of the Alternate Public Defender from 2010 to 2011. Judge Pendergast was appointed as a Commissioner to the Solano County bench in 2011 and elevated to judge in 2016. He has served as Assistant Presiding Judge since 2024 and was Supervising Criminal Law Judge from 2020 to 2022.
Judge Shauna L. Chastain earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and her Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University. Judge Chastain worked as an associate with the Law Office of Lynne Yates-Carter from 1996 to 1998, and then Mattice Law Offices from 1998 to 2007. Judge Chastain was a sole practitioner from 2007 until her appointment to the Bench in 2018. Judge Chastain was a Certified Family Law Specialist by the California Board of Legal Specialization. She has served as Supervising Family law Judge since 2020.