The

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the

judiciary of California The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Co ...

. Its membership consists of the

Chief Justice of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

and six

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

s who are nominated by the

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

and appointed after confirmation by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission consists of the Chief Justice, the

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

, and the state's senior presiding justice of the

California Courts of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

; the senior Associate Justice fills the Chief Justice's spot on the commission when a new Chief Justice is nominated. Justices of the Supreme Court serve 12-year terms and receive a salary which is currently set at $250,075 per year for the Chief Justice and between $228,703 and $236,260 per year for each associate justice. Art. VI, Sec. 16. Under the 1849

Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...

, the Supreme Court had a chief justice and two associate justices, with six-year terms of office. Art. VI, Sec. 2, 3. An 1862 constitutional amendment expanded the Court to a Chief Justice and four associate justices, with 10-year terms. Since the adoption of the 1879 Constitution, the Court has had a chief justice and six associate justices, with 12-year terms. The 1849 Constitution specified that the first Supreme Court justices would be appointed by the Legislature and that the justices would be subject to partisan

direct election Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

s from that point forward. The Governor could appoint justices in the event of a vacancy on the Court in between the elections. In 1910, elections for the Supreme Court became nonpartisan. In 1934, the state implemented the present system of gubernatorial appointment with

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...

s, replacing the

of justices.

List of justices

* Chief Justice

Jackson Temple Jackson Temple (August 11, 1827 – December 25, 1902) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. He served three separate terms on the court between 1870 and 1902. Early life and education Temple was born in the town of Heath ...

did not seek re-election in 1871, was elected as an associate justice in 1886 but resigned in 1889, and was again elected as an associate justice in 1895 serving (until his death in 1902). Therefore, he is listed three times. * denotes justices who served as chief justice for at least part of their tenure on the court while denotes currently-serving justices.

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

California Courts Past & Present JusticesCalifornia Supreme Court Justices
from the California Supreme Court Historical Society
Supreme Court of California
{{Lists of US Justices

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Justices A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...