California intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

2026 State Judicial Elections
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The terms of forty-nine California intermediate appellate court judges will expire on January 4, 2027. The forty-nine seats are up for retention election on November 3, 2026.

Judges with expiring terms

This is a list of the judges who must stand for retention election in 2026 in order to remain on the bench. Judges may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if judges retire or are appointed.

California First District Court of Appeal

■ Charles A. Smiley III
■ Kathleen M. Banke
■ Monique Langhorne Wilson
■ Tara M. Desautels
■ Therese M. Stewart
■ Carin Fujisaki
■ Ioana Petrou
■ Mark Simons
■ Danny Y. Chou
■ Gordon Burns

California Second District Court of Appeal

■ Michelle Kim
■ Gregory Weingart
■ Anne Richardson
■ Lee Edmon
■ Mark Hanasono
■ Rashida Adams
■ Armen Tamzarian
■ Audra Mori
■ Brian M. Hoffstadt
■ Kenneth Yegan
■ Tari Cody
■ Gonzalo Martinez
■ Natalie Stone
■ Victor Viramontes
■ John Shepard Wiley, Jr.

California Third District Court of Appeal

■ Aimee Feinberg
■ Jonathan Renner
■ Ronald Robie
■ Stacy Boulware Eurie
■ Shama Mesiwala
■ Elena J. Duarte

California Fourth District Court of Appeal

■ Julia Craig Kelety
■ Truc Do
■ Jose Scher Castillo
■ Terry O'Rourke
■ David Rubin
■ Michael J. Raphael
■ Nathan Scott
■ Joanne Motoike
■ Thomas A. Delaney
■ Martha K. Gooding

California Fifth District Court of Appeal

■ Rosendo Peña, Jr.
■ Kathleen Meehan
■ Mark Wood Snauffer
■ Thomas DeSantos

California Sixth District Court of Appeal

■ Charles E. Wilson II
■ Daniel H. Bromberg
■ Adrienne M. Grover
■ Allison M. Danner

Voting information

See also: Voting in California

Election information in California: June 2, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: June 2, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by May 18, 2026
• Online: May 18, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: N/A
• By mail: N/A by N/A
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: N/A
• By mail: N/A by N/A

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

May 23, 2026 to June 1, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (PT)

Campaign finance

The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.

Selection

The 106 judges of the California Courts of Appeal 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. Although the governor is not bound to these recommendations, the Commission on Judicial Appointments can approve or veto the appointment by majority vote.

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 court of appeals 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. 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.

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.

Presiding justice

The court uses the same process described above for selecting a presiding justice. The presiding justice for each district is chosen by the governor and is confirmed by the commission. In a court of appeals with more than one division, the chief justice of the supreme court may select a presiding justice to act as the administrative presiding justice. The administrative presiding justice serves for a period specified in the designation order. In a court of appeals with only one division, the presiding justice acts as the administrative presiding justice.

Vacancies

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.

See also

California	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in California California Courts of Appeal California Supreme Court California intermediate appellate court elections, 2022	Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in California	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• California Courts of Appeal

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

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