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California Supreme Court

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California Supreme Court
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Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1849
Location: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento
Salary
Associates: $298,721[1]
Judicial Selection
Method: Direct gubernatorial appointment
Term: 12 years
Active justices
Carol Corrigan, Kelli M. Evans, Joshua Groban, Patricia Guerrero, Martin J. Jenkins, Leondra Kruger, Goodwin Liu


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 California Supreme Court holds regular sessions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.[2]

In California, state supreme court justices are selected through direct gubernatorial appointment. Justices are appointed directly by the governor without the use of a nominating commission.[3] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

Before the creation of the court of appeals in 1904, the supreme court was the only appellate body in the state. The newly created court of appeals was to handle the "ordinary current of cases," while the supreme court handled the "great and important" cases.[4] The supreme court created a policy of automatically tranferring all direct appeals to the court of appeals, except for "death penalty cases, cases of public importance, emergency matters, and cases involving questions similar to those in other pending litigation."[5] This system was officially adopted by a constitutional revision in 1966, and the supreme court continues to have broad discretion over what cases it reviews. The 1966 constitutional revision also provided that the supreme court has jurisdiction to resolve questions dealing with disability or vacancy of a governor.[6]

The California Constitution gives the supreme court jurisdiction in mandamus, certiorari, habeas corpus, and prohibition cases. The California Supreme Court chooses cases that address legal issues relevant and significant across the state. The court has appellate jurisdiction to review parts of or entire cases brought before the California Courts of Appeal or any ruling that results in a judgment of death. The court also reviews the recommendations from the Commission on Judicial Performance and from the California State Bar for misconduct and disciplinary hearings. The Public Utilities Commission is the only entity that appeals directly to the supreme court.[7][8]

Decisions by the state supreme court are binding and apply to all other courts in the state. Only the supreme court may choose not to follow one of its previous decisions. The court has the power of Judicial review to invalidate a legislative or voter act on constitutional grounds. The court also has authority over the rules of practice and procedure for the courts, and it controls the admission of attorneys in the state bar.[9] Finally, the court has the power to order that an appeals court decision be published or not published, or to "depublish" all or part of a court of appeals opinion after granting a case review, thereby applying the decision only to the individual case.[10]

The following text from Article VI, Section 11 of the California Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

“

(a) The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction when judgment of death has been pronounced. With that exception courts of appeal have appellate jurisdiction when superior courts have original jurisdiction in causes of a type within the appellate jurisdiction of the courts of appeal on June 30, 1995, and in other causes prescribed by statute. When appellate jurisdiction in civil causes is determined by the amount in controversy, the Legislature may change the appellate jurisdiction of the courts of appeal by changing the jurisdictional amount in controversy.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), the appellate division of the superior court has appellate jurisdiction in causes prescribed by statute.

(c) The Legislature may permit courts exercising appellate jurisdiction to take evidence and make findings of fact when jury trial is waived or not a matter of right. [11]

”
—California Constitution, Article VI, Section 11

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the California Supreme Court, their political party, when they assumed office, and the appointing governor.

Salary

See also: California court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the justices of the court received a salary of $298,721, according to the National Center for State Courts.[12]

Vacancies

As of January 2, 2023, there are no vacancies on the California Supreme Court, out of the court's seven judicial positions.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in California

The seven justices of the California Supreme Court are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The state bar's Commission on Judicial Nominee Evaluation—also known as the "Jenny Commission"—is required to perform an extensive investigation on prospective appointees. The commission recommends candidates to the governor after examining their qualifications and fitness, ranking them as exceptionally well qualified, well qualified, qualified, or not qualified. The commission is composed of attorneys and public members.[13][14] Although the governor is not bound to these recommendations, the Commission on Judicial Appointments can approve or veto the appointment by majority vote.[15]

Following confirmation from the Commission on Judicial Appointments, the appointed justice is sworn into office and is subject to voter approval at the next gubernatorial election. The appointed justice must be confirmed by voters via a yes-no retention election. According to the California Constitution, the term for a supreme court justice is 12 years. If retained by the voters, the appointed justice remains in office but their term may depend on their predecessor's term. If the predecessor served part of their term before leaving office, the appointed justice would be retained to serve the remainder of their predecessor's term. This would be for either four or eight years. At the end of that term, the justice again must be confirmed by the voters at a gubernatorial election to begin a new 12-year term.[16][17] If a justice has been appointed to a seat where the predecessor's term would have expired the January 1 immediately after that November gubernatorial election, then the justice would serve a full 12-year term.[18]

Qualifications

To serve as a justice, a candidate must have practiced law for at least 10 years in California or served as a judge in California for at least 10 years.[18]

Chief justice

The court uses the same process described above for selecting its chief justice. The governor, with commission approval, appoints a chief justice for a full 12-year term.[19]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges are required to participate in yes-no retention elections occurring at the time of the next gubernatorial race, which is held every four years.[18]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


Elections

2022

See also: California Supreme Court elections, 2022

Candidates and results

Groban's seat

California Supreme Court, Joshua Groban's seat

Joshua Groban was retained to the California Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 68.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
68.0
 
 5,664,354
No
 
32.0
 
 2,661,668
Total Votes
 8,326,022

It has been certified. Source

Guerrero's seat

California Supreme Court Chief Justice, Guerrero's seat

Patricia Guerrero was retained to Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 70.9% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
70.9
 
 6,194,671
No
 
29.1
 
 2,537,627
Total Votes
 8,732,298

It has been certified. Source

Jenkins' seat

California Supreme Court, Martin Jenkins' seat

Martin J. Jenkins was retained to the California Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 69.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
69.3
 
 5,825,582
No
 
30.7
 
 2,576,601
Total Votes
 8,402,183

It has been certified. Source

Liu's seat

California Supreme Court, Goodwin Liu's seat

Goodwin Liu was retained to the California Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 69.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
69.3
 
 5,908,904
No
 
30.7
 
 2,623,045
Total Votes
 8,531,949

It has been certified. Source

Justices not on the ballot

Tani Cantil-Sakauye[20]


2018

See also: California Supreme Court elections, 2018

Candidates and results

Corrigan's seat

California Supreme Court

Carol Corrigan was retained to the California Supreme Court on November 6, 2018 with 69.8% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
69.8
 
 6,539,085
No
 
30.2
 
 2,833,205
Total Votes
 9,372,290

It has been certified. Source

Kruger's seat

California Supreme Court

Leondra Kruger was retained to the California Supreme Court on November 6, 2018 with 72.8% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
72.8
 
 6,698,643
No
 
27.2
 
 2,506,418
Total Votes
 9,205,061

It has been certified. Source


2014

See also: California judicial elections, 2014

Kathryn Werdegar and Goodwin Liu were retained in 2014.[21][22] Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar was appointed to the court by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in July 2014 and retained to a full term in November 2014.[23]

Retention

JudgeElection Vote
WerdegarKathryn Mickle Werdegar72.6% ApprovedA
CuéllarMariano-Florentino Cuéllar67.7% ApprovedA
LiuGoodwin Liu67.1% ApprovedA

Appointments

2023

See also: California Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2023)

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Kelli M. Evans to the California Supreme Court effective January 2, 2023.[24] Evans succeeded Patricia Guerrero, who was nominated to the position of chief judge on the court on August 10, 2022.[24] Evans was Gov. Newsom's third nominee to the seven-member court.

At the time of the vacancy under California law, vacancies were filled by gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges were required to participate in yes-no retention elections at the time of the next gubernatorial race, held every four years.

2021

See also: California Supreme Court justice vacancy (October 2021)

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Patricia Guerrero to the California Supreme Court on February 15, 2022. Guerrero succeeded Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, who retired on October 31, 2021, to become president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.[25][26][27][28] Guerrero was Gov. Newsom's second nominee to the seven-member court.

At the time of the vacancy under California law, justices of the California Supreme Court were selected by gubernatorial appointment.

2020

See also: California Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2020)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court on October 5, 2020. The state Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Jenkins' appointment on November 10, 2020. He succeeded Justice Ming Chin, who retired on August 31, 2020.[29][30][31] Jenkins was Newsom's first nominee to the seven-member supreme court.

At the time of the appointment under California law, state supreme court justices were recommended by the Commission on Judicial Nominee Evaluation to the governor. The governor then selected the new justice, who had to be confirmed by the state Commission on Judicial Appointments.

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions the court reached each year.[32]

California Supreme Court caseload data
Year Filings Dispositions
2024 4,944 4,825
2023 5,490 5,764
2022 5,680 5,776
2021 6,542 6,314
2020 6,485 6,354
2019 6,896 7,048
2018 6,825 6,726
2017 7,325 6,993
2016 8,090 7,953
2015 7,871 7,554
2014 7,911 7,773
2013 7,813 8,482
2012 9,237 9,717
2011 10,145 10,063
2010 9,562 9,439
2009 9,274 9,513
2008 10,521 10,440
2007 8,988 9,247

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Ballotpedia Courts Determiners and Dissenters navigation ad.png In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

  • We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
  • We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
  • We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
  • We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

  • Number of justices: 7
  • Number of cases: 76
  • Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 89.5% (68)
  • Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Leondra Kruger (13)
  • Per curiam decisions: 5
  • Concurring opinions: 13
  • Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Mariano Florentino Cuellar (7)
  • Dissenting opinions: 5
  • Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (2)

For the study's full set of findings in California, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Ballotpedia Courts State Partisanship navigation ad.png Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[33]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[34]

California had a Court Balance Score of -5.71, indicating Democratic control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

SSC by state.png


Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of California was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, California received a score of -0.32. Based on the justices selected, California was the 14th most liberal court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[35]


Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the California Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

History of the court

The first California state constitution, completed in 1849 after the Mexican-American War, created California's first judicial branch of government as it gained statehood in 1850. The constitution provided for three supreme court justices, and required the first three justices to be elected by the legislature, with justices after being elected by voters to serve six-year terms. Gold was discovered in California in 1848 and the ensuing population growth impacted the development of the court. Most early cases dealt with water and mineral rights on public lands, mining, agriculture, and property titles. In 1862 the constitution was amended to cope with the growth by increasing the number of supreme court justices to five, with terms of office increasing to ten years. The amendment also expanded the jurisdiction of the court to hear a wider variety of cases.[40]

The supreme court was expanded again through a new constitution following a constitutional convention in 1879. The court grew to seven justices and terms were increased again from ten to twelve years. The court's jurisdiction was also expanded and all opinions were required to be made in writing. Three courts of appeals were created in 1904 to deal with the increasing backlog of the supreme court, and the supreme court was given the power to transfer a case from an appeals court to itself or to a different appeals court.[41]

In 1934 the supreme court's election system changed into a system of noncontested judicial elections in which the governor, with the confirmation of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, fills seats by appointment, and at the next general election, voters decide whether the appointees should be confirmed through retention election.[42]


Location of the court

Earl Warren Building

The California Supreme Court meets in the Earl Warren Building in San Francisco, California.

The first court convened in San Francisco and remained there until 1854. In that year, legislative mandate required the court to relocate to the to-be-determined state capitol. The court moved to Sacramento in 1855, and returned to San Francisco in the 1870s. In 1874, the state legislature ordered that the court would hear cases for two months of each year in both San Francisco and Sacramento.[43]

Noteworthy firsts

  • 1977: Rose Bird became the first female justice to serve on the court. She was also the court's first female chief justice.[44]
  • 1989: Justice Joyce Kennard was the first Asian-American to serve on the court.[45]
  • 2010: Tani Cantil-Sakauye became the first Asian-American to serve as chief justice of the court.[46]

Courts in California

See also: Courts in California

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.

The structure of California's state court system.

Party control of California state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

California has a Democratic trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

California Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty years with Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Assembly D D D S R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

See also

California Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in California
California Courts of Appeal
California Supreme Court
Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in California
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
  2. ↑ Courts Newsroom, "California Supreme Court," accessed August 17, 2021
  3. ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
  4. ↑ Governing California, "The California Judiciary," accessed June 7, 2024
  5. ↑ Governing California, "The California Judiciary," accessed June 7, 2024
  6. ↑ Constitution Revision History and Perspective, "The Executive Branch," accessed June 7, 2024
  7. ↑ California Courts, "Supreme Court of California Booklet,"accessed August 18, 2021
  8. ↑ California Courts, "About the Supreme Court," accessed August 18, 2021
  9. ↑ Governing California, "The California Judiciary," accessed June 7, 2024
  10. ↑ Judicial Council of California, "2024 California Rules of Court," accessed June 7, 2024
  11. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  12. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
  13. ↑ The State Bar of California, "Background," accessed March 27, 2023
  14. ↑ The State Bar of California, "Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation," accessed March 27, 2023
  15. ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
  16. ↑ California Legislative Information, "Article VI Judicial Sec. 16.," accessed March 27, 2023
  17. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Justices of the Supreme Court," accessed March 27, 2023
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 California Courts, "Judicial Selection: How California Chooses Its Judges and Justices," accessed March 27, 2023
  19. ↑ Justia, "Supreme Court of California Decisions," accessed March 27, 2023
  20. ↑ On July 27, 2022, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye announced that she would not stand for retention to the office of Chief Justice.
  21. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "California Supreme Court headed for change," April 4, 2014
  22. ↑ Stanford Law School, "Justice Goodwin Liu," accessed April 22, 2014
  23. ↑ California Secretary of State Voter Guide, "Justices of the Supreme Court," accessed August 26, 2014
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom Announces Historic Supreme Court Nominations," August 10, 2022
  25. ↑ California Globe, "State Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar To Leave Court On October 31st," September 17, 2021
  26. ↑ Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom Nominates Justice Patricia Guerrero to Serve on California Supreme Court," February 15, 2022
  27. ↑ CBS8, "Governor nominates San Diego judge to State Supreme Court," February 16, 2022
  28. ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Fourth District Court of Appeal Justice Patricia Guerrero will be the first Latina to California Supreme Court," February 16, 2022
  29. ↑ Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom Selects Justice Martin Jenkins (Ret.) for California Supreme Court," October 5, 2020
  30. ↑ California Courts, "Justice Ming Chin to Retire from California Supreme Court," January 15, 2020
  31. ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Martin Jenkins Confirmed to California’s High Court," November 10, 2020
  32. ↑ " accessed September 30, 2025
  33. ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
  34. ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
  35. ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Justia', "Briggs v. Brown," August 24, 2017
  37. ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "California Supreme Court strikes down key provision of death penalty law," August 24, 2017
  38. ↑ The Los Angeles Times, "Gay marriage ban overturned," May 17, 2008
  39. ↑ Huffington Post, "Supreme Court Rules On Prop 8, Lets Gay Marriage Resume In California," June 26, 2013
  40. ↑ California Supreme Court Historical Society,"History of the California Supreme Court," accessed June 7, 2024
  41. ↑ California Supreme Court Historical Society,"History of the California Supreme Court," accessed June 7, 2024
  42. ↑ California Supreme Court Historical Society,"History of the California Supreme Court," accessed June 7, 2024
  43. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named history
  44. ↑ New York Times, "Rose Bird, Once California's Chief Justice, Is Dead at 63," December 6, 1999
  45. ↑ Women's Legal History, "Joyce L. Kennard," accessed August 18, 2021
  46. ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Cantil-Sakauye sworn-in as state Supreme Court chief justice," December 3, 2010

California courts

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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