4th District
How Appellate Court Justices Are Selected
The office of appellate court justice is nonpartisan. To be eligible to serve, a person must have practiced law for at least 10 years.
Before a person can become an appellate court justice, the Governor 
must submit that person's name to the California State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation , which is comprised of public members and lawyers who reflect the diversity of California's population, and must include persons of a variety of backgrounds, abilities, interests, and opinions. With community input, the Commission conducts a thorough review of the candidate's background and qualifications, and forwards an evaluation to the Governor.
The evaluation assesses the candidate's character, reputation, common sense, knowledge, legal skills, professional experience, objectivity, ethics, ability to make difficult decisions, work ethic, temperament, and integrity. After receiving the Commission's evaluation and concluding the person is qualified for appointment, the Governor may nominate the person to become an appellate court justice.
The nominee's qualifications are then reviewed by the Chief Justice of California, the Attorney General of California, and a senior presiding justice of the California Court of Appeal. Sitting as the Commission on Judicial Appointments, they conduct a public hearing. The public is invited to comment and speak at the hearing in support of or in opposition to the appointment. Letters received by the Commission in support of or in opposition to the appointment are received and considered by the Commission and are acknowledged publicly at the hearing. If the Commission finds the nominee is qualified to serve, it confirms the nomination. Following confirmation, the person takes the oath of office and becomes an appellate court justice. An appellate justice confirmed by the Commission must then be confirmed by voters at the next general election.
Every four years, more than a third of California's appellate court justices face California voters for retention. Voters simply decide yes or no. If a majority of voters casts a "yes" vote for a particular justice, that justice remains for another term. The Code of Judicial Ethics requires all justices "to be faithful to the law regardless of partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism . . . ." The retention election system, adopted by California voters as part of the state Constitution, is designed specifically to foster judicial independence from improper external pressures.
Because appellate court justices serve in districts, voters in each district alone decide whether to retain them. California's court of appeal justices are divided among six appellate districts, located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, and San Jose. The Fourth Appellate District is divided into three geographically separate Divisions: San Diego (Division One), Riverside (Division Two), and Santa Ana (Division Three). Each Division has a Presiding Justice appointed by the Governor. Currently the Presiding Justice of Division One is also the Administrative Presiding Justice for the entire Fourth Appellate District and is appointed by the Chief Justice. There are ten appellate justices in Division One who have jurisdiction over San Diego and Imperial County. There are seven appellate justices in Division Two who have jurisdiction over Riverside, San Bernardino, and Inyo Counties. Division Three has eight appellate justices with jurisdiction over Orange County.
Appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention. The only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group. However, they do seek to provide helpful information to voters. The justices have worked closely and actively with the Secretary of State to help the public learn more about the appellate courts, who the appellate court justices are, and what they do. As a consequence, voters everywhere in California can easily obtain biographical information on every justice who appears on the ballot by going to the Secretary of State's Internet website. Voters can also read biographical profiles of each appellate court justice by going to their profile at this Web site.
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