Hon. Shawn Nelson is a judge for the Orange County Superior Court in California. He was elected to the bench on June 7, 2022.

Prior to his election, Nelson was a chief assistant district attorney with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. Nelson went on to complete a J.D. at Western State College of Law at Westcliff University.

Over the course of his legal career, Nelson was a partner at Rizio & Nelson and an arbitrator for the Orange County Bar Association. In addition, he served as a city councilman and an attorney for the City of Fullerton. During that time, he was the City of Fullerton representative to the Orange County Water District and the Water Advisory Committee of Orange County, served as an alternate for the Santa Ana River Flood Protection Agency, and held two terms as the mayor of the City of Fullerton (2004 to 2006).

He has been involved with the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, the Elks Lodge of Fullerton, and the Fullerton Historic Theater Foundation.

Nelson is a lifelong resident of Fullerton, California. He and his wife, Sharon, have three children.