Justices of the Supreme Court

The Electoral Procedure

For more information about Supreme Court Justices and Appellate Court Justices, visit www.courts.ca.gov.

California law requires the following information to be printed in this notice.

Under the California Constitution, justices of the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal are subject to confirmation by the voters. The public votes “yes” or “no” on whether to retain each justice.

These judicial offices are nonpartisan.

Before a person can become an appellate justice, the Governor must submit the candidate's name to the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, which is comprised of public members and lawyers. The commission conducts a thorough review of the candidate’s background and qualifications, with community input, and then forwards its evaluation of the candidate to the Governor.

The Governor then reviews the commission’s evaluation and officially nominates the candidate, whose qualifications are subject to public comment before examination and review by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. That commission consists of the Chief Justice of California, the Attorney General of California, and a senior Presiding Justice of the Courts of Appeal. The Commission on Judicial Appointments must then confirm or reject the nomination. Only if confirmed does the nominee become a justice.

Following confirmation, the justice is sworn into office and is subject to voter approval at the next gubernatorial election, and thereafter at the conclusion of each term. The term prescribed by the California Constitution for justices of the Supreme Court and courts of appeal is 12 years. Justices are confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments only until the next gubernatorial election, at which time they run for retention of the remainder of the term, if any, of their predecessor, which will be either four or eight years. (Elections Code section 9083)

Goodwin Liu,
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Bar Admission:
Admitted to California Bar in 1999.
Education:
Yale Law School, J.D., 1998; Stanford University, B.S., 1991; Oxford University, M.A., 2002.
Professional Legal Background:
Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law, 2003–2011 (served as Associate Dean, 2008–2010); Litigation Associate, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, 2001–2003; Law Clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 2000–2001; Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Education, 1999–2000; Law Clerk to U.S. Circuit Judge David S. Tatel, 1998–1999.
Judicial Background:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California, 2011–present (appointed by Governor Jerry Brown and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments).
Kathryn Mickle Werdegar,
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Bar Admission:
Admitted to California Bar in 1964.
Education:
J.D. (With Distinction) George Washington University School of Law, 1962; B.A. University of California at Berkeley, 1957.
Professional Legal Background:
Senior Staff Attorney California Supreme Court, 1985–1991; Senior Staff Attorney California First District Court of Appeal, 1981–1985; Associate Dean and Associate Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law, 1978–1981; Director, Criminal Law Division, California Continuing Education of the Bar, Berkeley, CA 1971–1978; Consultant and Author, California College of Trial Judges, Berkeley, CA 1968–1971; Associate, U.C. Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society, 1965–1967; United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 1962–1963.
Judicial Background:
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California, 1994 to present; Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, 1991–1994.

On July 22, 2014, Professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar was nominated by Governor Jerry Brown to be an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. The California Constitution requires that Professor Cuéllar's nomination be confirmed or rejected by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. If a nominated justice is confirmed by the Commission, the justice is subject to voter approval at the next gubernatorial election. This means Professor Cuéllar would be on the November 4, 2014, ballot. State law required this voter guide to be printed before the Commission's meeting to consider the nomination of Professor Cuéllar. For more information about judicial retention elections, see page 62 of this voter guide. For updated information about California Supreme Court nominations, go to www.courts.ca.gov.

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar,
Stanford University Law Professor
Bar Admission:
Admitted to California Bar in 1998.
Education:
Harvard College, A.B. 1993; Yale Law School, J.D. 1997; Stanford University, A.M. 1996, Ph.D. 2000.
Professional Legal Background:
Stanford University (2001–Present); Stanley Morrison Professor of Law (2012–Present); Professor (2007–2012); Associate/Assistant Professor (2001–2007); Director and Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, (2013–Present); Special Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy, The White House, Domestic Policy Council (2009–2010); Co-Chair, Immigration Policy Working Group, Obama-Biden Transition Project (2008–2009); Law Clerk to Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit,(2000–2001); Senior Advisor, Under Secretary for Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Treasury,(1997–1999).

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