COUNCIL ON ACCESS AND FAIRNESS - TIPS ON COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION FOR A - SUPERIOR COURT APPOINTMENT

Sep 19, 2026

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Guidance on completing an application to become a superior court judge, emphasizing complete candor and careful, incremental drafting. The document explains how to find and review the official judicial appointment instructions, eligibility requirements, and the superior court application worksheet for a printable working draft. It also outlines the mandatory evaluation stages, including confidential JSAC vetting and the JNE Commission process with opportunities to respond to substantial and credible criticisms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Know What You Are Getting Yourself Into

Know What You Have to Go Through

COUNCIL ON ACCESS AND FAIRNESS TIPS ON COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION FOR A SUPERIOR COURT APPOINTMENT 1. INTRODUCTION If you have seriously considered becoming a trial court judge, you may feel intimidated by the prospect of completing the judicial application. You will be required to disclose detailed personal, private, and perhaps embarrassing information. Some of the information may be very time consuming to compile. However, the application itself is really simple. It is important to remember that you must be completely candid in all of your responses. You can complete the application if you work on the draft of the application incrementally, with a clear organizational plan in mind. We list below some things to consider before you begin your journey, and, on the last page, we suggest a plan of action for tackling the draft of your application. Good luck! 2. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO Select a sitting or retired judge to mentor you through the application process, because you will need a cheering section. Look for a mentor who will be honest about issues that may arise with your candidacy, and who will be a tough critic of your application. Then do the following: i. Go to the governor‘s website: [gov.ca.gov](gov.ca.gov and)[ and](gov.ca.gov and) hover your pointer over “Appointments” and then click on Judicial in the drop down menu. Or go to [https://www.gov.ca.gov/instructions-for-completing-judicial-appointment-applications/](https://www.gov.ca.gov/instructions-for-completing-judicial-appointment-applications/) ii. Print out and carefully read all of the instructions for completing the judicial appointments application. Please note that you are not eligible to be a judge unless you have been an attorney or judge of a court of record for 10 years immediately preceding your appointment. iii. On the website, focus on the heading for “Superior Court Application” but DO NOT click on the link for “New Applications: Superior Court Application” yet. iv. Go to “Review Worksheet” and click on the link “Superior Court Worksheet” and save itas a Word document. This will serve as the working draft of your application. When you get ready to complete the online application, you will be able to cut and paste your essays and other answers from your working draft into the final online version of your application. Completing the working draft will save time as well as give you a document you can print and review carefully for errors with your mentor judge before you begin completing your application online. v. Read all of the questions in the application worksheet straight through to familiarize yourself with the types of information you will have to provide, and make notes regarding the sources from which you can obtain the requested information. 3. KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH There will be at least two and possibly three mandatory evaluation processes. The governor’s office makes an initial evaluation of your application. Members of the governor’s regional Judicial Selection Advisory Committees (JSACs) help the governor vet you. The membership of the JSACs is now public, and the names are on the governor’s website. You should not lobby orin any way solicit support for your appointment from these JSAC members, or seek to discuss your candidacy with them, as their work is confidential. You will not be apprised of either the substance or the source of the information received by the JSAC, and you will not be given an opportunity to rebut any negative assessments of your candidacy conveyed to the JSAC. The JSAC vetting process will include as many as 20-30 phone calls and personal contact with your colleagues, judges and other personal contacts in your community, and not necessarily those listed on your application. For example, if it is learned through a Google search that you were engaged in a high-profile or protracted trial, and opposing counsel was not mentioned in your application, th

FAQs

Why is complete candor emphasized in the application process?

The guidance states you must be completely candid in all responses, including detailed personal and private information you may find time-consuming to compile.

What is the purpose of creating a working draft using the worksheet?

The document recommends printing and saving the superior court worksheet as a Word document so you can draft and review essays for errors with a mentor before copying into the online application.

How do the evaluation processes differ between the JSAC and the JNE Commission?

JSAC vetting involves confidential information and no opportunity to rebut negative assessments. In contrast, the JNE Commission must disclose “substantial and credible” criticisms and provides an interview for you to respond.

Sep 19, 2026

Upload by Tawan