California Supreme Court

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California Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1849
Judicial selection
Method:	Gubernatorial appointment of judges
Term:	12 years
Active justices
Kathryn Mickle Werdegar  •  Ming Chin  •  Marvin Baxter  •  Joyce Kennard  •  Carol Corrigan  •  Goodwin Liu  •  Tani Cantil-Sakauye  •
Former justices

Founded in 1849, the California Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort.

Justices

The current justices of the court are:

Judge	Term	Appointed by	Party
Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar	1994-2015	Pete Wilson
Justice Ming Chin	1996-2023	Pete Wilson
Justice Marvin Baxter	1991-2014	George Deukmejian
Justice Joyce Kennard	1989-2018	George Deukmejian
Justice Carol Corrigan	2006-2018	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Justice Goodwin Liu	2011-2014	Jerry Brown
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye	2010-2020	Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jurisdiction

The California Constitution gives the Supreme Court jurisdiction in mandamus, certiorari, habeas corpus and prohibition cases. In deciding which cases merit review, the California Supreme Court focuses on significant legal issues of statewide importance. 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 judgement 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.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in California

Justices are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The appointment of a justice must be confirmed via retention referendum at the next gubernatorial election. Incumbent justices stand for retention at the end of their 12-year terms.

Qualifications

To be considered as a candidate for an appointment a person must:

• Be an attorney admitted to practice law in California for the last ten years.
• Or have served as a judge of a California court for the last ten years.

Removal of justices

Judges may be removed in one of three ways:

• By retention election.
• Removed by the legislature.
• Removed by recommendation of the California Commission on Judicial Performance following an investigation of judicial misconduct that leads to the commission to "admonish, suspend, censure, retire, or remove a judge."

Caseloads

Fiscal Year	Filings	Dispositions
2012
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

Salaries

The Associate Justices of the court receive $218,237 annually, while the Chief Justice makes $228,856.

Notable decisions

• A UC Davis Study "Followed Rates” and Leading State Cases, 1940-2005, details that many notable California Supreme Court rulings are subsequently followed in other state courts. This study discusses many notable rulings and their successors in other states.
• California Supreme Court gives standing to ballot measure sponsors
• Ruling on state ban on same-sex marriage

On May 17, 2008 the California Supreme Court found the State's ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. Their ruling was broadly worded, virtually invalidating, "any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation." This ruling spurred on Proposition 8, which was to outlaw same-sex marriage again in the state of California. The Proposition 8 ballot measure was approved in the 2008 election, but has been wrapped up in court since, being continually found unconstitutional by courts up the chain of jurisdiction. The most recent ruling on Prop 8 came on February 7, 2012, when the Federal 9th Circuit upheld the overturning of of the measure.

History of the court

The constitution of California was first created and implemented in 1849. In this, the Supreme Court was created to have a Chief Justice and two associate justices, who would be elected by a legislative vote. The first three members of the Court were Serranus Clinton Hastings as the first Chief Justice, and H.A. Lyons and Nathaniel Bennett as associate justices. In 1862 this article was amended so that the court could hear a wider variety of cases, and the number of justices were increased to five. Terms of Supreme Court justices were increased from six years to 10. The number of justices on the court increased again in 1879, from five to seven, as did term limits, which increased from 10 years to 12 years. The Judicial Council of California was established in 1926, under an amendment to Article VI. The Council was, and still is, chaired by the Chief Justice and has the explicit responsibility to "improve the administration of justice and to enact rules of court practice and procedure."

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 then moved to Sacramento in 1855, returning to San Francisco in the 1870s. In 1874, the state legislature ordered the court to hear cases for two months of each year in San Francisco and two months of each year in Sacramento.

Notable firsts

• Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye is the first non-Caucasian to serve as the Chief Justice.
• Justice Joyce Kennard is the first Asian-American, and only the second woman, to serve on the court.

See also

• California blogs
• California judicial news
• California Superior Courts
• Judicial selection in California
• California Supreme Court Historical Society
• News: California Supreme Court gives standing to ballot measure sponsors, November 17, 2011
• News: California bill drives wedge in judiciary, February 10, 2012

External links

• The Modern California Supreme Court: Progressivism and Practical Constraints
• California Supreme Court Official Site
• Court Information Page
• Supreme Court Booklet
• Legal Pad, a website covering California court news

References

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2010

California Supreme Court, Chief Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Tani Cantil-Sakauye		4,772,376	67.1%
Against retention		2,345,611	32.9%

California Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Ming Chin		4,599,967	65.5%
Against retention		2,427,421	34.5%

• Click here for 2010 General Election Results from the California Secretary of State.

2006

California Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2006 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Joyce Kennard		4,395,470	74.6%
Against retention		1,501,183	25.4%

California Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2006 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Carol Corrigan		4,304,376	74.4%
Against retention		1,483,509	25.6%

• Click here (scroll to page 28) for 2006 General Election Results from the California Secretary of State.

2002

California Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2002 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Kathryn M. Werdegar		3,776,837	74.2%
Against retention		1,318,662	25.8%

California Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2002 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Marvin Baxter		3,523,077	71.6%
Against retention		1,399,418	28.4%

• Click here for 2002 General Election Results from the California Secretary of State.