Paul Nguyen

Draft. Last updated 2026-10-17. This contest is still being reviewed.

Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One

Judicial 7 seats 2026-11-03

All Fullerton voters. Every voter in Orange County sees the Fourth Appellate District, Division One retention questions, because retention questions for a Court of Appeal seat are decided by the voters of the whole appellate district and the Orange County Registrar of Voters lists the judicial contest on the county ballot as Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3. These are seven separate yes or no questions, one for each name printed, not a contest between candidates, and a voter marks yes or no on each question separately. Division One is one of the three divisions of the Fourth Appellate District and sits in San Diego. The district's own history page says Division One handled the court matters originating in Imperial and San Diego counties and that appeals from Orange County went to Division Three in Santa Ana once that division was formed in 1982, so a Fullerton voter decides questions about a division that would not hear that voter's own county appeal. The two official lists print the seven questions in different orders. The certified list of candidates and the Secretary of State's voter guide page for the Fourth District print Bermudez, Castillo, Do, Rodriguez, Rubin, Dato, Kelety, which is the order used in this file and in the contest index, and the Secretary of State's list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions prints Kelety, Castillo, Do, Dato, Bermudez, Rodriguez, Rubin. No street address was used for this file.

What this office does

A California Court of Appeal justice sits on the intermediate appellate court. The Judicial Branch's page on what appellate justices do says most legal disputes involving state law are decided first by trial courts or certain administrative agencies, that a party who believes a trial court or agency made an error of law that harmed them may seek appellate review, and that the Court of Appeal decides those cases, with a further request for review possible at the California Supreme Court.

It says the decision of the Court of Appeal is final in the vast majority of cases because the Supreme Court grants review of only a few of them. Appellate courts do not take new evidence or reassess witness credibility: they review the written record to decide whether the trial court properly interpreted the law and used the correct procedures.

Each appeal is considered by a panel of three justices, a majority must agree, and a reversal almost always returns the case to the trial court to be reheard under the correct law. The same page says all justices are bound to apply the law whether or not they personally agree with it, that they may not substitute their own ideas for what the law should be, and that the Code of Judicial Ethics requires them to be faithful to the law regardless of partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism.

It says the retention election system was adopted by California voters as part of the state Constitution to foster judicial independence. The Judicial Branch's selection page adds that the office is nonpartisan, that a justice must have practiced law for at least 10 years, that the Governor sends a nominee's name to the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation for a background review that rates the candidate, that the nominee then goes to a public hearing of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, made up of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and a senior presiding justice, which confirms or rejects the nomination, and that a justice confirmed by the commission must then be confirmed by the voters.

The Judicial Branch's retention page says no one may run against a justice, that a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and that more than a third of the state's 99 court of appeal justices face voters every four years.

Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. The Fourth District's own history page says the district was created in 1929, that it covers Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties, and that as of 2021 it has 26 judgeships, ten of them allocated to Division One, eight to Division Two and eight to Division Three.

It says Division One sits in San Diego and handled the court matters originating in Imperial and San Diego counties, Division Two took filings from Inyo, San Bernardino and Riverside counties and sits in Riverside, and appeals from Orange County were divided between the divisions until Division Three was formed in 1982 in Santa Ana and assumed all Orange County cases, which makes Division Three the only state appellate court whose jurisdiction is limited to a single county.

The court salaries and staffing table published by Ballotpedia puts a California Court of Appeal justice's salary at $280,052 and records the state judicial branch budget at $5,254,030,000 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The LAist guide says the job of a justice at this level is to act as a second set of eyes on lower court decisions.S7S8S9S10S11S35S43S52

Contest context

  • The Secretary of State's certified list of candidates for the November 3, 2026 general election, dated August 27, 2026, prints seven questions for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, each asking whether the person named be elected to the office for the term provided by law: Eran M. Bermudez, Jose S. Castillo, Truc T. Do, Lisa Rodriguez, David M. Rubin, William S. Dato and Julia C. Kelety. The Secretary of State's separate list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions, dated August 24, 2026, prints the same seven with the same wording in a different order. All seven are printed as Associate Justice except Lisa Rodriguez, whose question reads Shall San Diego County Superior Court Judge LISA RODRIGUEZ be elected to the office for the term provided by law. The Secretary of State's voter guide page for the Fourth District prints the seven Division One names in the certified list order, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters lists the single judicial contest on the county ballot as Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3.S1S2S3S4S5
  • These are retention questions rather than races between candidates, so no candidate statement, campaign platform or opposing candidate exists. The voter guide's Fourth District page prints each name as Associate Justice and links to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, and it carries the note that no biographical information is available for Lisa Rodriguez. The Judicial Branch's retention page says the official statewide voter pamphlet does not contain biographical sketches for court of appeal justices and instead refers voters to a website and a telephone hotline for justices' biographies. Ballotpedia records the filing deadline for this retention election as August 15, 2026, and states that its candidate list for the election may not be complete.S1S3S10S34
  • The seven questions are not every seat in the division. The Judicial Branch's roster for the Fourth Appellate District lists ten Division One justices, and the district's history page says ten judgeships are allocated to Division One, so four Division One justices have no question on this ballot: Judith McConnell, Terry B. O'Rourke, Martin N. Buchanan and Marsha Amin. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 retention election lists Terry O'Rourke of the Fourth District, Division One among the judges not on the ballot.S2S6S7S34
  • One of the seven questions is for a seat whose justice is not on the ballot. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Justice Terry B. O'Rourke is retiring when his term ends on January 4, 2027, that Judge Lisa Rodriguez was appointed to take that seat, and that because Rodriguez was appointed to a seat with a term that expires this January her name appears on the November ballot, with the question whether she should be elected to the appellate seat. The Governor's office release of August 7, 2026 states that Rodriguez fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice O'Rourke after he completes his term of office on January 4, 2027, and that her appointment to a term beginning January 4, 2027 will be subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. The California Courts newsroom release of August 20, 2026 states that the confirmation of Judge Rodriguez is subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3, with her term beginning January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful.S27S29S32S33
  • The fourth Division One justice without a question on this ballot holds the seat of a justice who died during the term. The Fourth District's news page records that Associate Justice Joan K. Irion of Division One died on June 20, 2026. The Governor's office release of August 7, 2026 states that Judge Marsha Amin fills the vacancy created by the death of Justice Irion, and the California Courts newsroom release of August 20, 2026 records Amin's confirmation as associate justice of Division One but does not include her among the confirmations it lists as subject to voter confirmation at the November 3, 2026 general election. The two official candidate lists carry no question for that seat. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial states the general rule that a judge appointed by the governor must run to be retained at the first such election at which there was sufficient time for the appointee to file papers; the sources reviewed for this file do not state which rule or date kept that seat off this ballot.S2S18S27S29S30S53
  • Every one of the seven questions is decided by a majority of the votes cast on that question. The Judicial Branch's retention page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Ballotpedia says the terms of 62 California intermediate appellate court judges expire on January 4, 2027 and that all 62 of those seats are up for retention on November 3, 2026, and it records January 4, 2027 as the term end for each of the six incumbent Division One justices on this ballot. Ballot Explained counts 63 appellate retention questions on the certified list, states that California has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no statewide bar rating of retention candidates, and states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, which it gives as the reason there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballot Explained's own list of the Fourth District names omits the Lisa Rodriguez question, so that list is not complete; the certified list and the voter guide both include it. The LAist guide says no California appellate court justice has lost a retention election since the system began in the 1930s, and that voters removed three members of the state Supreme Court in 1986.S1S10S34S44S52
  • Organizations and publications have taken positions on the seven Division One questions. The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices, naming the Fourth District justices among them, and states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and none have had disciplinary issues with the Commission on Judicial Performance. The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention and makes the same statement about fitness and discipline. Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, asks voters in the Santa Barbara Independent to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot and makes the same statement about the record of the justices on the ballot. UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists every Fourth District name, including Lisa Rodriguez under the designation San Diego County Superior Court Judge, with a yes entry. The California Voter Guide, whose ratings Robyn Nordell's guide gives as its primary source, rates Bermudez, Castillo, Dato and Kelety at three stars with retain yes, rates Rodriguez and Rubin at four stars with retain yes, and rates Do at two stars with retain no.S45S46S47S49S50S51
  • Two of the guides reviewed take a different position on some of these seats. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations record yes for Bermudez, Castillo, Dato, Kelety, Rubin and Rodriguez and no for Truc T. Do. Reform California's voter guide for Orange County records retain for William S. Dato and do not retain for each of the other six Division One names. Neither guide prints, in the sections retrieved for this file, a finding of misconduct against any of the seven, and the Commission on Judicial Performance's list of public decisions on judicial disciplinary cases contains no entry for any of the seven names. Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for these seats.S48S50S34S54

Candidates

Listed in ballot order. Candidates are described with the same sections and level of detail; no ranking or endorsement is implied.

Eran M. Bermudez

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice ERAN M. BERMUDEZ be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The certified list and the voter guide print the seven Division One names in the order Bermudez, Castillo, Do, Rodriguez, Rubin, Dato, Kelety, while the Secretary of State's separate list of judicial candidates prints the same seven in a different order.S1S2S3S9
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says Governor Gavin Newsom nominated her to the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, on April 16, 2026, that the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation unanimously found her exceptionally well qualified, and that the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed her and she took the oath of office on May 22, 2026. The California Courts newsroom release of May 22, 2026 records the unanimous confirmation, naming her as associate justice of Division One, and the Fourth District's own news page announced the appointment on May 26, 2026.S12S20S21
  • The Governor's office release of April 16, 2026 records her career before the Court of Appeal: a judge of the Imperial County Superior Court from 2018, a compliance resolution officer at the University of California, San Diego from 2016 to 2018, a partner at Garcia Hernandez Sawhney from 2011 to 2016 and an associate at Best Best & Krieger from 2005 to 2011, and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. It states that she fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Richard D. Huffman.S12S19
  • Her profile says that before this appointment she served as an Imperial County Superior Court judge, that her colleagues on that court unanimously elected her to serve as Presiding Judge, making her the first Latina to hold that position in Imperial County, and that in 2025 the California Supreme Court appointed her to serve as a Special Master in proceedings initiated by the Commission on Judicial Performance. It says she was born and raised in the Imperial Valley where she attended public schools, that she holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine, and that she worked at the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination at the University of California, San Diego.S12S19
  • The same profile records the work it places outside the courtroom: a past president of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association and of its scholarship fund, a former board member of the Tom Homann LGBTQ+ Law Association, a member of Lawyers Club, mentoring through the Imperial County Mock Trial program and the Imperial County Migrant Speech and Debate Program, and a current member of the Chief Justice's Power of Democracy Civic Learning Initiative advisory board.S12
  • Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on May 22, 2026, that her predecessor on the seat was Richard Huffman, that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, that she is on the ballot in the retention election on November 3, 2026, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S36S43
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints her biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S12

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for her seat. The Governor's office release records that the seat was vacated by the retirement of Justice Richard D. Huffman, and her profile records that she took the oath of office on May 22, 2026, less than six months before this election. Ballotpedia records no earlier retention question on this seat and lists her as appointed rather than elected to it.S12S19S36
  • She has served in Division One since 2026, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile, and the Fourth District's news page announced her appointment on May 26, 2026. Litigation in this district is decided by three justice panels drawn from the division, so her service is counted in panels rather than in individual authorship of outcomes.S6S7S12S21
  • Her record before this court is a trial court judgeship. Her profile says she sat on the Imperial County Superior Court, that her colleagues there unanimously elected her Presiding Judge, and that the California Supreme Court appointed her in 2025 to serve as a Special Master in proceedings initiated by the Commission on Judicial Performance. The Governor's office release dates that Superior Court service from 2018, and the California Courts newsroom records her nomination as a judge of that court as a 2018 appointment.S12S19
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S36

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists her with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals, saying that all of the judicial retention elections it lists are yes.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates her three stars on its five-star scale with retain yes. It states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for her.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do not retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S36

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for Eran M. Bermudez. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households with cases in the superior courts of San Diego and Imperial counties: the Fourth District's history page says Division One handled the court matters originating in those two counties, and her profile records her earlier service as a Presiding Judge of the Imperial County Superior Court. That is a record of assignment and administrative office, not a stated position on court fees, fines or filing costs.S7S12
  • Households that complain about a judge: her profile records that the California Supreme Court appointed her in 2025 to serve as a Special Master in proceedings initiated by the Commission on Judicial Performance, the agency that investigates complaints about judicial officers. That is a record of appointment, not a stated position on discipline policy.S12
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S36

Campaign website

Jose S. Castillo

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for his seat as: Shall Associate Justice JOSE S. CASTILLO be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan.S1S2S9
  • His Judicial Branch profile says Governor Gavin Newsom nominated him to the Court of Appeal in February 2023 and that he was confirmed two months later. Ballotpedia records the nomination as February 17, 2023, the confirmation as April 7, 2023 and his assumption of office as April 7, 2023, and records that he filled the seat of Justice Judith Haller. The Governor's office release of February 17, 2023 records the same nomination and the same vacating justice.S13S22S37
  • His profile says he was born in Mexico and moved to the United States as a child, that at seventeen he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Stations Iwakuni in Japan and Miramar, and that after four years of service he received degrees from Santa Rosa Junior College, California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis School of Law, becoming the first college graduate and lawyer in his family.S13
  • The same profile records his public service career: a one year clerkship for the Honorable Micaela Alvarez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, three years as a staff attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California prosecuting cartels, gangs and narcotics and immigration offenses, and a 2020 appointment to the San Diego Superior Court where he served as a judge in a family law department. The Governor's office release records the same roles with the Assistant U.S. Attorney service dated 2010 to 2020, the Ninth Circuit service from 2007 to 2010 and the Superior Court judgeship from 2020.S13S22
  • His profile says he serves on two Judicial Council of California committees, the Appellate Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness, and that he volunteers with Judges in the Classroom, the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association Scholarship Fund, Lawyers Club of San Diego, the San Diego County Bar Association and Just the Beginning, a pipeline organization, with which he helped launch a free five day summer legal institute for local high school students.S13
  • Ballotpedia records that he assumed office on April 7, 2023, that his current term ends on January 4, 2027, that he served on the San Diego Superior Court from 2020 to 2023, that his 2022 Superior Court primary was canceled and he won that office without appearing on the ballot, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, and that he has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S37S43
  • No campaign website was found for him. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints his biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S13

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for his seat. His profile records that he was confirmed in 2023 and took office that year, and Ballotpedia records April 7, 2023 as the assumption of office and records no earlier retention question on this seat.S13S37
  • He has served in Division One since 2023, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile and Ballotpedia, and Ballotpedia records no judicial election for him other than the canceled 2022 Superior Court primary.S6S13S37
  • His record before this court is a trial court judgeship. His profile and the Governor's office release record that he sat on the San Diego Superior Court from 2020 in a family law department, after a decade prosecuting federal cases for the Southern District of California and three years as a staff attorney at the Ninth Circuit. Family law departments hear dissolutions, child custody and support matters.S13S22
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S37

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names him among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists him with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates him three stars on its five-star scale with retain yes, and states that the ratings come from a source guide. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for him.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists him with a do not retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for him.S37

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for Jose S. Castillo. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in family law cases: his profile records that he served as a judge in a family law department of the San Diego Superior Court from 2020 until his appointment to this court. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on child support, spousal support or custody rules.S13S22
  • Households with cases in the superior courts of San Diego and Imperial counties: the Fourth District's history page says Division One handled the court matters originating in those two counties. That is a record of the division's caseload, not a stated position on court fees, fines or filing costs.S7S13
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S37

Campaign website

Truc T. Do

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice TRUC T. DO be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan.S1S2S9
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her and that the Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed her, and that she took the oath of office as an associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, on January 14, 2021. The Governor's office release of December 8, 2020 records the nomination and states that the seat was vacated by the retirement of Justice Gilbert Nares, and Ballotpedia records December 8, 2020 as the appointment, January 14, 2021 as the assumption of office and Gilbert Nares as the predecessor.S14S24S38
  • The Governor's office release states that if confirmed she would be the first Asian American woman justice in the court's history and the first Asian American to serve in Division One, and that she had been the first Vietnamese-American judge appointed to the San Diego County Superior Court, in 2018. The Fourth District's own history page records that on January 14, 2021 Justice Truc T. Do of Division One became the first Vietnamese-American justice appointed in California.S14S7S24
  • Her profile says she was born in Pleiku, Vietnam, came to the United States as a war refugee at the age of 3 with her family in April 1975, settled in San Diego after relocation through Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, became a naturalized U.S. citizen at age 11 in 1982 and attended public schools in San Diego. It records a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993, graduating magna cum laude, and a law degree at Stanford Law School in 1997.S14
  • The same profile records her career before the bench: partner at the law firms Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles and Jones Day in San Diego from 2009 to 2018 practising complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal defence, and a criminal prosecutor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office from 1999 to 2009 where she prosecuted homicides in the Hardcore Gang Division and the Major Crimes Division. It says that over a 20 year career as a trial lawyer she tried 76 cases to jury verdict, including 20 homicide cases, two of which were death penalty cases. The Governor's office release records the same firms and dates and adds an earlier associate position at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton from 1997 to 1999.S14S24
  • Her profile says she represents the Fourth Appellate District on the Supreme Court and Appellate Court Bias Prevention Committee, that she previously served as a trustee of the San Diego Law Library, as a director of nonprofit organizations including the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program and the California Women's Law Center, and as a member of Governor Newsom's Regional Judicial Selection Advisory Committee and of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Judicial Appointments Committee. It lists the Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in the Adjudication of the Law in 2021, an APABA Trailblazer Award in 2021, Law360 Trial Ace in 2015, the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys Prosecutor of the Year in 2008 and a Justice for Homicide Victims outstanding prosecutor award in 2006.S14
  • Ballotpedia records that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that she sat on the San Diego Superior Court from 2018 to 2021, that she won that seat by default when the 2020 election was canceled because she was the only candidate to file, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, that her campaign contribution history for the 2022 election shows no contributions and no expenditures, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S38S43
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints her biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S14

Record in office

  • This is her second retention question on this seat. Ballotpedia records that she was retained on November 8, 2022 with 60.5 percent of the vote, 1,380,865 yes votes to 903,345 no votes out of 2,284,210 votes cast, and that the result was certified. Her profile records that she took office in January 2021, so that 2022 vote covered the remainder of her predecessor's term.S14S38
  • She has served in Division One since January 14, 2021, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. Litigation in this district is decided by three justice panels drawn from the division, so her service is counted in panels rather than in individual authorship of outcomes.S6S7S14
  • Her record before this court is a three year trial court judgeship on the San Diego Superior Court, where her profile says she presided over criminal and family law courts, preceded by nine years as a Los Angeles County criminal prosecutor handling homicide cases in the Hardcore Gang Division and the Major Crimes Division, and by nine years in private practice in complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal defence at Munger, Tolles & Olson and Jones Day.S14S24
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S38

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists her with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates her two stars on its five-star scale with retain no. The guide's legend describes two stars as a rating used to prevent a worse candidate from winning, and its pages state that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records no for her.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do not retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S38

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S38S45

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for Truc T. Do. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in criminal cases: her profile records eight years as a county prosecutor trying homicide cases, including two death penalty cases, before her judicial service, and Ballot Explained and the LAist guide record that appellate justices do not review death penalty appeals, which rest with the California Supreme Court. That is a record of prior employment and of the limits of the office, not a stated position on sentencing or bail policy.S14S44S52
  • Households in family law cases: her profile records that she presided over a family law court as a San Diego Superior Court judge. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on child support, spousal support or custody rules.S14
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S38

Campaign website

Lisa Rodriguez

San Diego County Superior Court Judge

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for the seat as: Shall San Diego County Superior Court Judge LISA RODRIGUEZ be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The listing of this question is the one difference in the two official orders: the certified list and the voter guide place it fourth, after Truc T. Do, and the Secretary of State's separate list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions places it sixth.S1S2S3S9
  • The Governor's office release of August 7, 2026 says Judge Lisa Rodriguez, of San Diego County, was nominated to serve as an associate justice in the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, that she has served as a judge in the San Diego County Superior Court since 2015, that she has worked as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law since 2014, that she served as a deputy district attorney at the San Diego County District Attorney's Office from 1998 to 2015 and as a deputy city attorney at the San Diego City Attorney's Office from 1996 to 1998, and that she received her law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law.S29
  • The same release states that she fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Terry B. O'Rourke after Justice O'Rourke completes his term of office on January 4, 2027, and that her appointment to a term beginning January 4, 2027 will be subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026. The California Courts newsroom release of August 20, 2026 records that the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed her by unanimous vote on that date as associate justice of Division One, and states that her confirmation is subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3, with her term beginning January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful.S27S28S29
  • The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on August 20, 2026 that Rodriguez was appointed to take the seat of Justice Terry B. O'Rourke, who is retiring when his term ends on January 4, and that because Rodriguez was appointed to a seat with a term that expires this January, her name appears on the ballot for the upcoming November election as laid out in the state Constitution, with the question to voters being whether she should be elected to the appellate seat. Its report of August 10, 2026 records the same nomination and the same seat.S32S33
  • Ballotpedia records that she is a judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County, that she assumed that office on April 2, 2015, that she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown on March 27, 2015 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Susan D. Huguenor, that her Superior Court term ends on January 8, 2029, that she received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego, a Master of Laws degree from Chapman University Fowler School of Law and a law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, and that she was a deputy district attorney in San Diego County from 1998 until her judicial appointment in 2015, from 2014 as an adjunct professor at the San Diego School of Law, and a deputy city attorney from 1996 to 1998. Ballotpedia's list for this retention election, and its page for her, do not mark her as an incumbent of the Court of Appeal seat.S34S42
  • The Secretary of State's voter guide page for the Fourth District prints her among the Division One names as Lisa Rodriguez, Associate Justice, with the note that no biographical information is available for her. The LAist guide describes her as a San Diego County Superior Court judge recently appointed to the bench as an associate justice with her term slated to start in January, notes that she does not have a Courts of Appeal page and links to a history of her. The Judicial Branch's roster of Fourth District justices does not list her, and its biography directory has no page for her: the address used for the other Division One justices returns no page. Her prior elections recorded by Ballotpedia are a 2016 unopposed Superior Court race and a 2022 nonpartisan primary that was canceled, and Ballotpedia records that she has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S3S6S42S44
  • No campaign website and no Judicial Branch profile page was found for her. The website field records the Governor's office announcement of her nomination, which is the official biography location found for her, and the voter guide note that no biographical information is available is stated here rather than filled from an unofficial biography.S3S29

Record in office

  • This is her first appearance on the ballot for this court, and it is the confirmation of her appointment. The California Courts newsroom release of August 20, 2026 states that her confirmation is subject to voter confirmation at the November 3, 2026 general election and that her term begins January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful, and the San Diego Union-Tribune states that the question to voters is whether she should be elected to the appellate seat. Ballotpedia records no earlier retention question on this seat for her.S27S32S42
  • She is not the sitting justice for this seat. The Judicial Branch's roster of Fourth District justices lists the nine other Division One justices but not her, the Secretary of State's certified list prints her as San Diego County Superior Court Judge rather than Associate Justice, and Ballotpedia's candidate page describes her as a Superior Court judge whose Court of Appeal entry carries no incumbent marker. Her Superior Court term recorded by Ballotpedia ends January 8, 2029.S1S6S42
  • Her record before this appointment is an eleven year Superior Court judgeship in San Diego County from April 2015 and seventeen years as a deputy district attorney in that county from 1998 to 2015, with two years before that as a deputy city attorney in San Diego, according to Ballotpedia and the Governor's office release. The sources reviewed do not state which departments or calendars she was assigned on the Superior Court.S29S42
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S42

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names the Fourth District justices among them. The post describes its evaluation committee work as covering the contested Superior Court races, and this seat's question is described in the post as part of the appellate retention election. The post does not name her separately.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention and lists the Second District justices by name; the Los Angeles County Bar Association post and the guide pages retrieved for this run list her with the Fourth District names.S47S45
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot. Her article explains the request in terms of the appointment and retention process and does not address this seat separately.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists her with a yes entry, printed as San Diego County Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates her four stars on its five-star scale with retain yes, describing four stars as very good, and states that the ratings come from a source guide. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for her.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do not retain entry, printed as Lisa Rodriguez (Associate Justice). The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S42

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55S42

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for Lisa Rodriguez. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in criminal cases: the Governor's office release and Ballotpedia record seventeen years as a deputy district attorney in San Diego County before her judicial appointment. That is a record of prior employment, not a stated position on sentencing, bail or diversion policy.S29S42
  • Households with cases in the superior courts of San Diego and Imperial counties: the Fourth District's history page says Division One handled the court matters originating in those two counties, and her judicial experience is in the San Diego County Superior Court. The sources reviewed do not state which calendars she heard there, so no effect on a particular kind of case is recorded.S7S29S42
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S34

Campaign website

David M. Rubin

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for his seat as: Shall Associate Justice DAVID M. RUBIN be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan.S1S2S9
  • His Judicial Branch profile says Governor Gavin Newsom appointed him to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, on March 30, 2023, and that the Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him on June 23, 2023. The Fourth District's news page announced the appointment on June 26, 2023, and Ballotpedia records March 30, 2023 as the appointment, June 23, 2023 as the assumption of office and the Superior Court of San Diego County as his prior office.S17S26S41
  • His profile records his judicial career before this court: almost 17 years on the San Diego Superior Court, where he served in the criminal, family and civil divisions, including his last three years on that court's Appellate Division. It says he grew up in Albany, California, graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982, received his law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1986 where he served on the law review, and then moved to San Diego to work in the Office of the San Diego County District Attorney, where he received that office's Prosecutor of the Year Award in 2006 before joining the Superior Court bench in January 2007.S17
  • The same profile records his service in judicial administration: a seat on the board of directors of the California Judges Association from 2009 to 2012 and its presidency from 2011 to 2012, and membership in the Judicial Council of California from 2013 as a voting member, where he chaired the Litigation Management Committee, the Judicial Branch Budget Committee and the Real Estate Policy Sub-committee of the Executive and Planning committee. Ballotpedia lists the 2001 Outstanding Service by Public Attorney Award from the San Diego County Bar Association and the 2006 Prosecutor of the Year Award from the district attorney's office.S17S41
  • The two main published accounts of his earlier career do not agree, and this file records both rather than choosing. The Judicial Branch profile gives his degrees as a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982 and a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1986, and places him on the Superior Court bench in January 2007 after the district attorney's office gave him its Prosecutor of the Year Award in 2006. Ballotpedia records a bachelor's degree and a law degree from Tulane University and describes his prosecutorial career as running from 1986 to 2002. The profile is the source used for the career narrative in this file and the Ballotpedia entries are recorded as stated.S17S41
  • Ballotpedia records that his current term ends on January 4, 2027, that he left the San Diego Superior Court in 2023, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, and that he has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. It also records that his 2018 Superior Court primary was canceled and he won without appearing on the ballot, and that in 2012 he ran for re-election to the Superior Court as an unopposed incumbent whose name did not appear on the ballot.S41S43
  • No campaign website was found for him. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints his biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S17

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for his seat. His profile records the confirmation on June 23, 2023 and Ballotpedia records that date as the assumption of office, with no earlier retention question on the seat.S17S41
  • He has served in Division One since 2023, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile and the Fourth District's news page. Litigation in this district is decided by three justice panels drawn from the division, so his service is counted in panels rather than in individual authorship of outcomes.S6S7S17S26
  • His record before this court is a trial court judgeship of almost 17 years on the San Diego Superior Court, hearing criminal, family and civil matters, with his last three years before appointment on that court's Appellate Division, preceded by service as a prosecutor in the San Diego County District Attorney's Office. The profile and Ballotpedia also record his time on the Judicial Council of California, including the chair of its Judicial Branch Budget Committee, which is the body that sets the judicial branch's budget request.S17S41
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S41

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names him among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists him with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates him four stars on its five-star scale with retain yes, describing four stars as very good, and states that the ratings come from a source guide. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for him.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists him with a do not retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for him.S41

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for David M. Rubin. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in family law and civil cases: his profile records that he served in the family and civil divisions of the San Diego Superior Court. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on support, custody, debt or contract rules.S17
  • Households that pay court fees and use court services: his profile records that he chaired the Judicial Branch Budget Committee of the Judicial Council of California from 2013, which is the body that prepares the judicial branch's budget request, and Ballotpedia records the 2025-2026 judicial branch budget as $5,254,030,000. That is a record of assignment and of the budget total, not a stated position on fees, fines or funding levels.S17S43
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S41

Campaign website

William S. Dato

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for his seat as: Shall Associate Justice WILLIAM S. DATO be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. His profile prints his name as William Dato and the official lists print William S. Dato.S1S2S9S15
  • His Judicial Branch profile says he was confirmed to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, in February 2017. Ballotpedia records that Governor Jerry Brown appointed him in December 2016, that the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed the appointment on February 9, 2017 and that he assumed office that day. Governor Brown's own release of December 23, 2016 announced the appointment of William S. Dato to Division One, described him as 61 years old and of Poway, and recorded that he had served as a judge of the San Diego County Superior Court since 2003.S15S25S39
  • His profile describes his judicial career before this court as 13 years on the San Diego Superior Court, where he served as supervising judge of the North County branch and as presiding judge of the court's appellate division, along with a variety of substantive assignments. It says that before his appointment to the bench he was a certified appellate law specialist in private practice and worked as an appellate court staff attorney with the California Supreme Court and the California Court of Appeal, and that he has been an adjunct professor at both the University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law, teaching appellate practice and products liability.S15
  • The same profile records that he is a native San Diegan, that he is married and the father of four children, that he received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1980 and that he holds a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from San Diego State University in 1977. Ballotpedia records the same two degrees and dates.S15S39
  • Ballotpedia records the earlier parts of his legal career: a research attorney for Chief Justice Rose E. Bird of the California Supreme Court in 1980, research attorney positions with Justice Matthew O. Tobriner in 1981 and with Justice Howard B. Wiener from 1981 to 1982, an associate at Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Hynes & Lerach from 1982 to 1984, senior research attorney to Justice Wiener from 1984 to 1994, a partner at that firm from 1994 to 2003 and a judge of the San Diego County Superior Court for Office 27 from 2003 to 2017. The Governor's office release records the Superior Court service from 2003.S25S39
  • Ballotpedia records that his current term ends on January 4, 2027, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, and that he has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S39S43
  • No campaign website was found for him. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints his biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S15

Record in office

  • This is his second retention question on this seat. Ballotpedia records that he was retained on November 6, 2018 with 64.2 percent of the vote, 1,566,856 yes votes to 875,356 no votes out of 2,442,212 votes cast, that the result was certified, and that in 2012, while on the Superior Court, he was an unopposed incumbent whose name did not appear on the ballot and who was automatically re-elected.S39
  • He has served in Division One since February 2017, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile, which records his confirmation in that month and lists him in the division with service since 2017. Litigation in this district is decided by three justice panels drawn from the division, so his service is counted in panels rather than in individual authorship of outcomes.S6S7S15
  • His record before this court is 13 years on the San Diego Superior Court, where his profile says he served as supervising judge of the North County branch and as presiding judge of that court's appellate division, preceded by private practice as a certified appellate law specialist and by staff attorney work at the California Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.S15S25
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for this justice. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean that no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S54S45S46S53

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S39

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names him among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists him with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates him three stars on its five-star scale with retain yes, and states that the ratings come from a source guide. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for him.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists him with a retain entry, printed as William S. Dato (Associate Justice). The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved, and his is the only Division One name on this ballot it lists as retain.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for him.S39

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for William S. Dato. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households with product liability or consumer cases: his profile records that he taught products liability as an adjunct professor and practised as a certified appellate law specialist. That is a record of teaching and practice, not a stated position on liability rules or damage limits.S15
  • Households with cases first heard in a branch court or at a trial court appeal: his profile records that he was supervising judge of the North County branch of the San Diego Superior Court and presiding judge of that court's appellate division, which reviews the decisions of its own trial judges. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on court fees, fines or filing costs.S15
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S39

Campaign website

Julia C. Kelety

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice JULIA C. KELETY be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. Her profile prints her name as Julia Kelety, Ballotpedia prints Julia Craig Kelety and the official lists print Julia C. Kelety.S1S2S9S16
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says Governor Gavin Newsom nominated her to the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, on January 27, 2023, that the Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed her and that she took the oath of office on April 7, 2023. The Governor's office release of January 31, 2023 records the nomination and states that she fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Patricia Guerrero to the California Supreme Court. Ballotpedia records April 7, 2023 as the assumption of office.S16S23S40
  • Her profile records her judicial career before this court: over nineteen years as a judge of the San Diego Superior Court, where she presided over probate and juvenile dependency matters, and three years as Presiding Judge of that court's Appellate Division.S16
  • The same profile records her education and earlier career: she grew up in Tempe, Arizona, earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Arizona in 1982 and graduated from Cornell Law School in 1985 where she served as Articles Editor for the Cornell Law Review, clerked for the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in its New York office from 1986 to 1990. It says she moved to San Diego in 1990 and became a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, where she received the Department of Justice's Directors Award for her prosecutions of fraudulent telemarketers, and that in 1997 she joined the Law Office of Howard Wiggins, where she later became partner. The Governor's office release records the same offices and dates.S16S23
  • Her profile records that she served as a board member of the Board of Trustees of the San Diego County Public Law Library from 2007 to 2023 and is a past President of that board, that she frequently teaches probate-related subjects to judges statewide for the Judicial Council's Center for Judiciary Education and Research, and that the Judicial Council of California, the California Judges Association and the State Bar of California presented her with the Benjamin Aranda Access to Justice Award in 2016 for a long-term commitment to improving access to the courts.S16
  • The Fourth District's news page records that, effective March 1, 2025, the California Supreme Court appointed her to the Commission on Judicial Performance, described there as the independent state agency responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct or incapacity and for disciplining judges.S31
  • Ballotpedia records that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that her prior office was the Superior Court of San Diego County, which she left in 2023, that the base salary for the seat is $280,052, that her 2018 Superior Court primary was canceled and she won without appearing on the ballot, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.S40S43
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints her biography link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S16

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for her seat. Her profile records the confirmation and the oath of office on April 7, 2023, and Ballotpedia records that date as the assumption of office with no earlier retention question on the seat.S16S40
  • She has served in Division One since April 7, 2023, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. Litigation in this district is decided by three justice panels drawn from the division, so her service is counted in panels rather than in individual authorship of outcomes.S6S7S16
  • Her record before this court is a trial court judgeship of over nineteen years on the San Diego Superior Court, where her profile says she presided over probate and juvenile dependency matters and served three years as Presiding Judge of the court's Appellate Division, preceded by federal prosecutions and private practice. Probate matters include the administration of estates and conservatorships, and juvenile dependency matters concern children removed from their parents.S16S23
  • Her record also includes service on the state's judicial disciplinary agency: the Fourth District's news page records that the California Supreme Court appointed her to the Commission on Judicial Performance effective March 1, 2025. The commission's own list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for her. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission.S31S54S45S46

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. The sources reviewed record judicial assignments, community work, awards and confirmations rather than positions. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that 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, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the voter guides retrieved for this run carry ratings and retain or do not retain entries, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S45S52S40

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices on the November 3, 2026 ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S45
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S47
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices whose names appear on their ballot, which includes this question.S46
  • UNITE HERE Local 11's 2026 California voter guide lists her with a yes entry for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.S51
  • The California Voter Guide rates her three stars on its five-star scale with retain yes, and states that the ratings come from a source guide. Robyn Nordell's Conservative Judicial Recommendations, which states that the California Voter Guide was its primary source, records yes for her.S49S50
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do not retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S48
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S40

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S34S45S55

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this seat was found for Julia C. Kelety. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's retention post says the same. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page carry no 2026 campaign finance information for this seat, the candidate page stating that campaign finance information is not yet available from OpenSecrets. The CityHallPass guide records a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access data for committees for or against retention that found none for the Supreme Court seats, and the California Files race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data shows no contribution or expenditure figures for any appellate retention candidate it lists. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access and Power Search pages returned only their script shells to the fetch tools used in this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for this question. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households dealing with an estate, a will or a conservatorship: her profile records that she presided over probate matters as a San Diego Superior Court judge and frequently teaches probate subjects to judges statewide for the Judicial Council. That is a record of assignment and teaching, not a stated position on probate fees, estate rules or conservatorship law.S16
  • Households involved with child welfare cases: her profile records that she presided over juvenile dependency matters, which concern children removed from their parents. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on reunification timelines or family support rules.S16
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills, and this seat's current term ends on January 4, 2027, so this question decides who holds the seat for the next term. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S52S40

Campaign website

Sources

  1. Certified List of Candidates, November 3, 2026 General Election, including the Court of Appeal Fourth Appellate District headings and ballot questions (dated August 27, 2026) California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  2. List of Judicial Candidates with Headings and Ballot Questions, November 3, 2026 General Election (dated August 24, 2026) California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  3. Official Voter Information Guide, November 3, 2026 General Election, Courts of Appeal, Fourth District page listing the Division One names in ballot order and linking to judicial biographical information California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  4. Contests Qualified for the Ballot for the 2026 General Election, including the Judicial entry Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3 Orange County Registrar of Voters Accessed 2026-10-17
  5. What's On the Ballot, November 3, 2026 General Election (PDF listing the Judicial contests on the county ballot) Orange County Registrar of Voters Accessed 2026-10-17
  6. Justices, Fourth Appellate District, current roster by division with service dates Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  7. About the 4th District, history of the district, the judgeship allocation by division, the county caseload of each division and the location of each division Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  8. What Appellate Court Justices Do Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  9. How Appellate Court Justices are Selected Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  10. Appellate Retention Elections, what they are and how voters learn about the justices Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  11. What to Know About Judicial Selection, a primer on how appellate justices are nominated and become part of the voter process (October 5, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  12. Profile of Eran M. Bermudez, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  13. Profile of Jose S. Castillo, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  14. Profile of Truc T. Do, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  15. Profile of William Dato, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  16. Profile of Julia C. Kelety, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  17. Profile of David M. Rubin, Associate Justice, Division One Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  18. Profile of Marsha Amin, Associate Justice, Division One (not on this ballot) Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  19. Governor Newsom announces updated judicial appointments, recording the April 16, 2026 nomination of Judge Eran Marie Bermudez to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Richard D. Huffman Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Accessed 2026-10-17
  20. Commission Confirms Five Appointments to Courts of Appeal, recording the May 22, 2026 confirmation of Judge Eran M. Bermudez as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One (May 22, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  21. Judge Eran M. Bermudez Appointed as Associate Justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division One (May 26, 2026) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  22. Governor Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments 2.17.23, recording the nomination of Judge Jose S. Castillo as associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Judith L. Haller Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Accessed 2026-10-17
  23. Governor Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments 1.31.23, recording the nomination of Judge Julia Kelety as associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, to fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Patricia Guerrero to the California Supreme Court Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Accessed 2026-10-17
  24. Governor Newsom Nominates First Asian American Woman Justice to Serve on Fourth District Court of Appeal, recording the December 8, 2020 nomination of Judge Truc T. Do to Division One to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Gilbert Nares (December 8, 2020) Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Accessed 2026-10-17
  25. Governor Brown Appoints Two Justices to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, recording the December 23, 2016 appointment of William S. Dato to Division One (December 23, 2016) Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Accessed 2026-10-17
  26. The Fourth District, Division One, announces the appointment of Justice David M. Rubin to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One (June 26, 2023) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  27. Commission Confirms Four Appointments to Courts of Appeal, recording the August 20, 2026 confirmations of Judge Lisa Rodriguez and Judge Marsha Amin for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, and stating that the confirmations of Judge Macaulay and Judge Rodriguez are subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3 with terms beginning January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful (August 20, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  28. Commission Confirms Three Appointments to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recording the August 20, 2026 confirmations of Judge Marsha Amin and Judge Lisa Rodriguez for Division One (August 20, 2026) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  29. Governor Newsom announces judicial appointments 8.7.2026, recording the August 7, 2026 nominations of Judge Marsha Amin and Judge Lisa Rodriguez to Division One, the vacating seats, and that the Rodriguez appointment to a term beginning January 4, 2027 will be subject to voter confirmation at the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026 Office of Governor Gavin Newsom Accessed 2026-10-17
  30. In Memoriam: Associate Justice Joan K. Irion, recording that the Division One justice died on June 20, 2026 (June 22, 2026) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  31. California Supreme Court Appoints Justice Julia Kelety to the Commission on Judicial Performance, effective March 1, 2025 (March 3, 2025) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  32. Commission approves 2 appointments to San Diego-based appellate court, reporting the confirmations of Judge Marsha Amin and Judge Lisa Rodriguez, that Amin fills the seat of Justice Joan Irion who died in June, that Rodriguez takes the seat of Justice Terry B. O'Rourke retiring when his term ends January 4, and that because Rodriguez was appointed to a seat with a term that expires this January her name appears on the November ballot with the question whether she should be elected to the appellate seat (August 20, 2026) The San Diego Union-Tribune Accessed 2026-10-17
  33. Newsom nominates two local judges to San Diego-based appeals court, reporting the nominations of Judge Marsha Amin and Judge Lisa Rodriguez to Division One and the seats each would fill (August 10, 2026) The San Diego Union-Tribune Accessed 2026-10-17
  34. California intermediate appellate court elections, 2026, retention election page with the candidate list by district and division, the note that the terms of 62 intermediate appellate court judges expire on January 4, 2027, the August 15, 2026 filing deadline, and the list of judges not on the ballot Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  35. California Fourth District Court of Appeal, court profile with division locations, the roster by division with appointment dates, the judgeship counts, the salary and the selection rules Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  36. Eran M. Bermudez, candidate page with the assumption-of-office and term-end dates, the predecessor and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  37. Jose Scher Castillo, candidate page with education, career, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates, the predecessor and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  38. Truc Do, candidate page with education, career, the certified 2022 retention result, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  39. William S. Dato, candidate page with education, career, the certified 2018 retention result, the appointment and confirmation dates and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  40. Julia Craig Kelety, candidate page with education, career, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  41. David M. Rubin, candidate page with education, career, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates, the awards and associations list and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  42. Lisa R. Rodriguez, candidate page recording her San Diego County Superior Court tenure and term end, her education, career, prior elections and the 2026 Court of Appeal entry without an incumbent marker Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  43. California court salaries and budgets, with the intermediate appellate court salary and the state judicial branch budget Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  44. California Courts of Appeal for LA and OC: What you need to know, the retention guide with the Fourth District name list, the note that Lisa Rodriguez is a San Diego County Superior Court judge recently appointed as an associate justice with her term slated to start in January and without a Courts of Appeal page, and the note that no California appellate justice has lost a retention election since the system began in the 1930s (published October 1, 2026, updated October 14, 2026) LAist Accessed 2026-10-17
  45. California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Justices Retention Election, stating the association strongly endorses a yes vote on the incumbent justices and that the justices up for retention have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and no disciplinary issues with the Commission on Judicial Performance (October 2, 2026) Los Angeles County Bar Association, LACBA News Accessed 2026-10-17
  46. About the Retention Election for California Appellate Justices, opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, asking voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on the ballot and describing the appointment and retention process (October 7, 2026) Santa Barbara Independent Accessed 2026-10-17
  47. Vote to confirm our Justices, post urging a yes vote on every justice appearing for retention and stating that the justices up for retention have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and no disciplinary issues with the Commission on Judicial Performance (September 25, 2026) Southern California Appellate News Accessed 2026-10-17
  48. Voter Guide, Orange County, with a retain or do not retain entry for each Court of Appeal justice, 2026 General Election Reform California Accessed 2026-10-17
  49. California Voter Guide, November 3, 2026 General Election, Judicial Races, the PDF with the five-star rating legend and the rating and retention column for each Court of Appeal justice (copy dated September 16, 2026 as posted by the guide's distributor) California Voter Guide (Craig Huey) Accessed 2026-10-17
  50. Conservative Judicial Recommendations for the November 3, 2026 California General Election, Part 2 covering the Courts of Appeal, with a yes or no entry for each justice and the statement that Craig Huey's California Judicial Voter Guide was the primary source (dated October 3 and 6, 2026) Robyn Nordell's Conservative Voter Guide Accessed 2026-10-17
  51. 2026 California Voter Guide, with a yes entry for every Court of Appeal justice on the November 3, 2026 ballot, including the Fourth District names, and the ballot designation San Diego County Superior Court Judge for Lisa Rodriguez (last updated October 16, 2026) UNITE HERE Local 11 Accessed 2026-10-17
  52. California appellate court elections, 2026, guide page recording the 63 appellate retention questions on the certified list, the meaning of a majority of yes votes and of a majority of no votes, the absence of any official judicial performance evaluation commission and of any statewide bar rating, and that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves (last reviewed September 21, 2026) Ballot Explained Accessed 2026-10-17
  53. Yes or no? Here are the Chronicle's endorsements for California Supreme Court and appeals courts, recording the state law rule that a judge appointed by the governor must run to be retained at the first election at which there was sufficient time for the appointee to file papers (October 10, 2026) San Francisco Chronicle Accessed 2026-10-17
  54. Decisions by Judge's Name, the commission's complete list of public decisions on judicial disciplinary cases since 1960, searched for each name on this ballot California Commission on Judicial Performance Accessed 2026-10-17
  55. California Supreme Court retention vote, November 2026, guide page recording a search of the Secretary of State's Cal-Access campaign finance data for committees supporting or opposing retention, with the result none found for the Supreme Court seats (published September 29, 2026) CityHallPass Accessed 2026-10-17
  56. Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, Fifth District, November 3, 2026 general, race page built from Cal-Access itemized contribution data for appellate retention candidates with no contribution or expenditure figures shown for any justice on that ballot (data snapshot October 12, 2026) California Files Accessed 2026-10-17