Courts in California

More information on California's state courts:
Selection methods Elections Salaries Federal courts

In California, there are four federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes which are outlined in the sections below.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The structure of California's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in California and California judicial elections

California uses two different systems for its selection of state court judges. The state's appellate judges are chosen by gubernatorial appointment followed by commission confirmation. Trial judges are elected by popular nonpartisan vote.

Judges of the California Supreme Court and California Courts of Appeal stand for retention during the next gubernatorial election following their appointment. If a newly appointed judge's predecessor left the court before finishing a full 12-year term, the new judge will stand for retention to complete the remainder of their predecessor's term rather than for a full 12-year term. Judges of the California Superior Courts are elected to six-year terms.

To read more about judicial elections in California, click here.

Federal courts

The federal district courts in California are the:

• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
• United States District Court for the Northern District of California
• United States District Court for the Southern District of California

Appeals from these districts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Active judges

Central District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Stephen Wilson	Ronald Reagan (R)	October 17, 1985 -	Lehigh University, 1963	Brooklyn Law School, 1967
David Carter	Bill Clinton (D)	October 22, 1998 -	University of California, Los Angeles, 1967	University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1972
John Walter	George W. Bush (R)	May 1, 2002 -	Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1966	Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1969
Percy Anderson	George W. Bush (R)	May 1, 2002 -	University of California, Los Angeles, 1970	University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1975
Robert Klausner	George W. Bush (R)	November 15, 2002 -	University of Notre Dame, 1964	Loyola Law School, 1967
Otis Wright	George W. Bush (R)	April 16, 2007 -	California State University, Los Angeles, 1976	Southwestern School of Law, 1980
Dolly Gee	Barack Obama (D)	January 4, 2010 -	University of California, Los Angeles, 1981	University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1984
Josephine Staton	Barack Obama (D)	June 22, 2010 -	William Jewell College, 1983	Harvard Law School, 1986
Michael Fitzgerald	Barack Obama (D)	March 15, 2012 -	Harvard, 1981	University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1985
Jesus Bernal	Barack Obama (D)	December 12, 2012 -	Yale, 1986	Stanford Law, 1989
Fernando Olguin	Barack Obama (D)	January 16, 2013 -	Harvard, 1985	University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1989
André Birotte Jr.	Barack Obama (D)	August 8, 2014 -	Tufts University, 1987	Pepperdine University Law School, 1991
John William Holcomb	Donald Trump (R)	September 18, 2020 -	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984	Harvard Law School, 1993
Mark C. Scarsi	Donald Trump (R)	September 18, 2020 -	Syracuse University, 1987	Georgetown University Law Center, 1996
Stanley Blumenfeld	Donald Trump (R)	September 18, 2020 -	State University of New York, Binghamton, 1984	University of California, Los Angeles, 1988
Fernando Aenlle-Rocha	Donald Trump (R)	December 22, 2020 -	Princeton University, 1983	University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1986
Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong	Joe Biden (D)	February 7, 2022 -	Harvard University	Yale Law School
Fred W. Slaughter	Joe Biden (D)	April 19, 2022 -	University of California, Los Angeles	University of California, Los Angeles
Sunshine S. Sykes	Joe Biden (D)	June 14, 2022 -	Stanford University	Stanford Law School
Sherilyn P. Garnett	Joe Biden (D)	June 24, 2022 -	University of California, Riverside	Harvard Law School
Wesley L. Hsu	Joe Biden (D)	May 12, 2023 -	Yale University	Yale University
Hernán D. Vera	Joe Biden (D)	June 15, 2023 -	Stanford University, 1991	UCLA School of Law, 1994
Kenly Kiya Kato	Joe Biden (D)	November 17, 2023 -	UCLA, 1993	Harvard School of Law, 1996
Mónica Ramírez Almadani	Joe Biden (D)	November 21, 2023 -	Harvard University, 2001	Stanford Law School, 2004
Michelle Williams Court	Joe Biden (D)	November 7, 2024 -	Pomona College	Loyola Law School
Anne Hwang	Joe Biden (D)	December 6, 2024 -	Cornell University	University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
Cynthia Valenzuela	Joe Biden (D)	December 16, 2024 -	University of Arizona, 1991	University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1995

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 18
• Republican appointed: 9

Eastern District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Troy L. Nunley	Barack Obama (D)	March 26, 2013 -	St. Mary's College of California, 1986	University of California, 1990
Dale A. Drozd	Barack Obama (D)	November 2, 2015 -	California State University, San Diego, 1977	University of California, Los Angeles, 1980
Jennifer L. Thurston	Joe Biden (D)	December 27, 2021 -	California State University, 1989	California Pacific Law, 1997
Daniel Calabretta	Joe Biden (D)	February 21, 2023 -	Princeton University	University of Chicago Law School
Kirk Sherriff	Joe Biden (D)	February 7, 2024 -	Columbia University, 1990	Harvard Law School, 1995
Dena Coggins	Joe Biden (D)	September 18, 2024 -	California State University, Sacramento, 2003	University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 2006

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 6
• Republican appointed: 0

Northern District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Richard Seeborg	Barack Obama (D)	January 4, 2010 -	Yale College, 1978	Columbia University School of Law, 1981
Edward J. Davila	Barack Obama (D)	March 3, 2011 -	California State University, San Diego, 1976	University of California, 1979
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers	Barack Obama (D)	November 21, 2011 -	Princeton University, 1987	University of Texas Law, 1991
Jon S. Tigar	Barack Obama (D)	January 18, 2013 -	Williams College, 1984	University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1989
Beth Labson Freeman	Barack Obama (D)	February 26, 2014 -	University of California, Berkeley, 1976	Harvard Law, 1979
James Donato	Barack Obama (D)	February 26, 2014 -	University of California, Berkeley, 1983	Stanford Law, 1988
Vince Girdhari Chhabria	Barack Obama (D)	March 7, 2014 -	University of California, Santa Cruz, 1991	University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, 1998
Haywood Stirling Gilliam Jr.	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	Yale University, 1991	Stanford Law School, 1994
Jacqueline Scott Corley	Joe Biden (D)	March 30, 2022 -	University of California, Berkeley	Harvard Law School
Trina Thompson	Joe Biden (D)	August 5, 2022 -	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley
Araceli Martinez-Olguin	Joe Biden (D)	March 3, 2023 -	Princeton University, 1999	University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2004
P. Casey Pitts	Joe Biden (D)	July 7, 2023 -	Yale University, 2003	Yale Law School, 2008
Rita Lin	Joe Biden (D)	October 4, 2023 -	Harvard College	Harvard Law School
Eumi Lee	Joe Biden (D)	May 7, 2024 -	Pomona College	Georgetown University Law Center

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 14
• Republican appointed: 0

Southern District

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Dana Sabraw	George W. Bush (R)	September 26, 2003 -	San Diego State University, 1980	University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 1985
Janis Sammartino	George W. Bush (R)	September 21, 2007 -	Occidental College, 1972	University of Notre Dame Law School, 1975
Cathy Bencivengo	Barack Obama (D)	February 10, 2012 -	Rutgers University, 1980	University of Michigan Law, 1988
Cynthia A. Bashant	Barack Obama (D)	May 8, 2014 -	Smith College, 1982	University of California, 1986
Todd Robinson	Donald Trump (R)	September 18, 2020 -	University of California, Berkeley, 1989	Georgetown University Law Center, 1993
Linda Lopez	Joe Biden (D)	December 21, 2021 -		University of Miami School of Law
Jinsook Ohta	Joe Biden (D)	December 27, 2021 -	Yale University, 1998	New York University School of Law, 2001
Ruth Bermudez Montenegro	Joe Biden (D)	March 30, 2022 -	Clarion University, 1989	University of California, Los Angeles, 1992
Robert Huie	Joe Biden (D)	June 14, 2022 -	Calvin College, 1998	Yale Law School, 2002
Andrew G. Schopler	Joe Biden (D)	March 10, 2023 -	Dartmouth College, 1994	Harvard Law School, 1997
James Simmons	Joe Biden (D)	March 10, 2023 -	University of California, Berkeley	Golden Gate University

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 8
• Republican appointed: 3

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.

Bankruptcy courts

There are four federal bankruptcy courts in California. The bankruptcy courts serve the same boundaries as the corresponding federal district courts. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in California are:

• United States bankruptcy court, Central District of California
• United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of California
• United States bankruptcy court, Northern District of California
• United States bankruptcy court, Southern District of California

State supreme court

See also: California Supreme Court

Founded in 1849, the California Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Patricia Guerrero.

As of January 2023, six judges on the court were appointed by Democratic governors and one judge was appointed by a Republican governor.

The following judges sit on the court:

Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
California Supreme Court	Carol Corrigan	Nonpartisan	2006
California Supreme Court	Kelli M. Evans	Nonpartisan	January 2, 2023
California Supreme Court	Joshua Groban	Nonpartisan	December 21, 2018
California Supreme Court	Martin J. Jenkins	Nonpartisan	December 4, 2020
California Supreme Court	Leondra Kruger	Nonpartisan	2015
California Supreme Court	Goodwin Liu	Nonpartisan	September 1, 2011
California Supreme Court Chief Justice	Patricia Guerrero	Nonpartisan	January 2, 2023

State court of appeals

See also: California Courts of Appeal

The California Courts of Appeal are the intermediate appellate courts in California. The courts are divided into six judicial districts. Most of the cases that come before the courts of appeal involve the review of a superior court decision that is being contested by a party to the case.

The following judges sit on the court:

First District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Jon B. Streeter	2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Tracie L. Brown	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Jeremy Goldman	August 10, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Victor Rodriguez		Gavin Newsom
Carin Fujisaki	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Ioana Petrou	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Alison M. Tucher	August 30, 2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
James M. Humes	2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Kathleen M. Banke	2009 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Monique Langhorne Wilson	January 30, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
James Richman	2006 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Marla J. Miller	2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Therese M. Stewart	November 30, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Tara M. Desautels	May 14, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Mark Simons	2001 - Present	Gray Davis
Gordon Burns	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Teri L. Jackson	August 30, 2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Danny Y. Chou	2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom

Second District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Arthur Gilbert	1983 - Present	Jerry Brown
Hernaldo Baltodano	August 3, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Kenneth Yegan	December 27, 1990 - Present	George Deukmejian
Tari Cody	April 17, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Helen Bendix	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Frances Rothschild	April 4, 2005 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Gregory Weingart	November 30, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Michelle Kim	November 25, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Elwood G. Lui	May 22, 2015 - Present	Jerry Brown
Judith Ashmann-Gerst	2001 - Present	Gray Davis
Victoria Chavez	October 28, 2005 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Anne K. Richardson	November 25, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Luis A. Lavin	2015 - Present	Jerry Brown
Anne Harwood Egerton	2017 - Present	Jerry Brown
Lee Edmon	August 8, 2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Rashida A. Adams	April 17, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Thomas Willhite	April 4, 2005 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Brian S. Currey	December 21, 2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Audrey Collins	June 28, 2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Audra Mori	April 17, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Carl H. Moor	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Dorothy C. Kim	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Lamar W. Baker	May 22, 2015 - Present	Jerry Brown
Brian M. Hoffstadt	November 25, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Gail Ruderman Feuer	June 1, 2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
John Segal	2015 - Present	Jerry Brown
Natalie Stone	May 14, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Gonzalo Martinez	July 10, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Maria E. Stratton	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Elizabeth A. Grimes	April 5, 2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Victor Viramontes	November 30, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
John Shepard Wiley Jr.	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown

Third District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Peter Krause	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Ronald Robie	January 15, 2002 - Present	Gray Davis
Harry Hull	February 9, 1998 - Present	Pete Wilson
Elena J. Duarte	November 23, 2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Louis R. Mauro	August 11, 2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jonathan Renner	August 28, 2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Stacy Boulware Eurie	August 4, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Laurie M. Earl	January 6, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Aimee Feinberg	January 30, 2024 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Shama Mesiwala	March 20, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom

Fourth District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
William S. Dato	February 9, 2017 - Present	Jerry Brown
Terry O'Rourke	December 7, 1988 - Present	Pete Wilson
Richard Huffman	October 13, 1988 - Present	George Deukmejian
Joan Irion	September 25, 2003 - Present	Gray Davis
Truc Do	January 14, 2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Martin Buchanan	May 27, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Judith McConnell	October 3, 2001 - Present	Gray Davis
Jose Scher Castillo	April 7, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Julia Craig Kelety	April 7, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Marsha Slough	February 22, 2016 - Present	Jerry Brown
Richard T. Fields	February 9, 2017 - Present	Jerry Brown
Art McKinster	December 27, 1990 - Present	George Deukmejian
Douglas Miller	June 9, 2006 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Frank J. Menetrez	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Carol D. Codrington	August 25, 2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Manuel Ramirez	December 27, 1990 - Present	George Deukmejian
Michael J. Raphael	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Maurice Sanchez	January 6, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Thomas M. Goethals	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Joanne Motoike	June 16, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Kathleen O'Leary	January 21, 2000 - Present	Gray Davis
Eileen Moore	December 22, 2000 - Present	Gray Davis
Thomas A. Delaney	October 11, 2022 - Present	Gavin Newsom
David M. Rubin	June 23, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom

Fifth District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Thomas DeSantos	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Mark Wood Snauffer	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
M. Bruce Smith	2014 - Present	Jerry Brown
Donald R. Franson Jr.	2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Brad Hill	2006 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Chuck Poochigian	2009 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jennifer R.S. Detjen	2010 - Present	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Herbert I. Levy	August 5, 1997 - Present	Pete Wilson
Rosendo Peña Jr.	2012 - Present	Jerry Brown
Kathleen Meehan	2017 - Present	Jerry Brown

Sixth District

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Adrienne M. Grover	2012 - Present	Jerry Brown
Allison M. Danner	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Mary J. Greenwood	2018 - Present	Jerry Brown
Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian	1989 - Present	George Deukmejian
Daniel H. Bromberg	January 13, 2023 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Charles E. Wilson II	August 30, 2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom
Cynthia C. Lie	August 30, 2021 - Present	Gavin Newsom

Trial courts

Superior courts

See also: California Superior Courts

The California Superior Courts are the trial courts of the California court system. Each of California's 58 counties has a superior, or trial, court. Trials take place in the California Superior Court system in more than 450 courthouses. The superior courts hear civil and criminal cases, as well as family, probate, and juvenile cases.

In other states

Click the map below to explore the court structure in other states.

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https://ballotpedia.org/Courts_in_STATE

See also

• Judicial selection in California
• California judicial elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• California Supreme Court website

Footnotes

California courts

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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