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California Commission on Judicial Appointments
| Judicial nominating commissions |
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| Individual nominating committees |
| Select a committee in the dropdown below and click "Submit" to view information about that committee. |
| Methods of judicial selection |
| Partisan elections |
| Nonpartisan elections |
| Michigan method |
| Retention elections |
| Assisted appointment |
| Bar-controlled commission |
| Governor-controlled commission |
| Hybrid commission |
| Legislative elections |
| Gubernatorial appointment |
The California Commission on Judicial Appointments is responsible for confirming appointments the governor makes to the Supreme Court, courts of appeal and the superior courts. The commission is composed of three members: the chief justice of the California Supreme Court, the Attorney General of California, and the most senior justice of the California Courts of Appeal.[1]
California's state judges are chosen by gubernatorial appointment—where the governor directly selects judges—followed by commission confirmation.[2] The governor makes a selection to fill the vacancy; the commission then holds public hearings, giving the citizenry the opportunity to weigh in on the nominee's qualifications. The commission must file a report indicating its approval of the governor's selection with the California Secretary of State before any appointment to an appellate court is effective.[3]
Although the commission is similar to other governor-controlled assisted appointment commissions in that the governor is responsible for appointing a majority of its members, it is different in that it does not submit a list of names that the governor must choose from. Instead, the commission holds a public hearing to consider a nominee’s qualifications, and can then either confirm or veto the nominee's appointment through a majority vote. The nomination or appointment is effective only if and when confirmed by the commission.[1]
Members
Last updated: April 2025.
The commission consists of three members: the chief justice of the supreme court, the attorney general and the senior presiding justice of the court of appeal for the district to which a judge is being appointed. When the candidate is a Supreme Court appointee, the senior presiding justice for the court of appeal serves as the third member of the commission.[4]
The chief justice or acting chief justice serves as the chairperson of the commission.[3][4]
| Members of the California Commission on Judicial Appointments, April 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Appointed by | Term-end date |
| Chair - Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero | Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) | January 8, 2035 |
| Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) | Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) | January 4, 2027 |
| Senior presiding justice of the Courts of Appeal[5] | Governor of California | The term-end date of the justice serving on the commission for each appointment |
Process
The commission website lays out the process by which the commission assists in filling a judicial vacancy.[4]
- Pre-hearing procedures - The chairperson schedules the confirmation hearing and requests that the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar (JNE) submit a written recommendation and choose a representative to testify at the hearing. The commission reviews all requests to testify and notifies the nominee of these requests and any other documentation pertaining to the hearing. The nominee provides the commission with a list of witnesses they wish to testify at the hearing. No later than 2:00 p.m. on the second court day before the scheduled hearing, the commission must release all relevant documents to the public.
- Hearing procedures - The members of the commission may confer prior to the hearing to establish procedure. Witnesses then must testify orally without the right to present evidence in the following order: witnesses in support of the nominee, witnesses in opposition to the nominee, the JNE representative, then the nominee. The hearings must be recorded and open to the public and the media. The commission can deliberate privately, but must announce its decision publicly at the hearing and in a news release.
- Post-hearing procedures - After the nomination proceedings, transcripts and recordings of the hearing(s) must be made available upon request to any person, agency, or organization except as otherwise provided by California state law.
Duties
The commission website summarizes the duties of the commission members as follows.[1] For more on commission duties, see the commission website here.
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Any candidate nominated or appointed by the Governor to the Supreme Court or a Court of Appeal must be reviewed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The commission holds a public hearing to consider the candidate’s qualifications, and the nomination or appointment is effective if and when confirmed by the commission. When a Court of Appeal candidate is being reviewed, the commission consists of the Chief Justice of California, the Attorney General of California, and the most senior Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal of the affected district(s). [6] |
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About judicial selection
Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:
Election
- Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
- Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
- Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
- Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.
Assisted appointment
- Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.[7] At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
- Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
- Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
- Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.
Direct appointment
- Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
- Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
- Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
- Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 California Courts, "Commission on Judicial Appointments," accessed October 8, 2021
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 California Courts, "Commission on Judicial Appointments," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 California Courts, "Commission Guidelines," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ For appointments to the appeal and superior courts, the third member is the most senior appellate justice from that district. When the candidate is a Supreme Court appointee, the senior presiding justice for the court of appeal serves as the third member of the commission.
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges," accessed August 10, 2021
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
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