Charles A. Smiley III
Charles A. Smiley III is a judge for Division 1 of the California 1st District Court of Appeal. He assumed office on February 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Smiley won re-election for judge of the Superior Court of Alameda County in California outright in the primary on March 3, 2020, after the primary and general election were canceled.
Smiley was first appointed to the California First District Court of Appeal on November 21, 2024. He was sworn in on February 14, 2025, succeeding Sandra Margulies.[1]
Education
Smiley received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.[2]
Career
- 2025-present: Judge, California First District Court of Appeal
- 2012-2025: Judge, Superior Court of Alameda County
- 2007-2012: Court commissioner, Superior Court of Alameda County
- 2004-2007: Associate adjunct professor, University of California, Hastings College of the Law
- 1997-2007: Deputy public defender, Alameda County Public Defender's Office[2]
Elections
2020
Incumbent Charles A. Smiley III was the only candidate to file and won the position by default when the election was canceled.
2018
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Charles A. Smiley III (Nonpartisan) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2012
- See also: California judicial elections, 2012
Smiley ran for re-election to the superior court in 2012. As an unopposed incumbent, his name did not appear on the ballot. After the primary election, Smiley was automatically re-elected.[3]
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election
The 1,535 judges of the California Superior Courts compete in nonpartisan races in even-numbered years. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary election, he or she is declared the winner; if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates is held during the November general election.[4][5][6][7]
If an incumbent judge is running unopposed in an election, his or her name does not appear on the ballot. The judge is automatically re-elected following the general election.[4]
The chief judge of any given superior court is selected by peer vote of the court's members. He or she serves in that capacity for one or two years, depending on the county.[4]
Qualifications
Candidates are required to have 10 years of experience as a law practitioner or as a judge of a court of record.[4]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Charles A. Smiley III did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Judicial Branch of California, "Commission Confirms Appointments to Courts of Appeal," February 14, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Candidate Filed Log
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: California," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Safeguarding California's judicial election process," August 21, 2011
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8203," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8140-8150," accessed May 21, 2014
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
