List of justices of the Supreme Court of California


This is a list of Justices of the Supreme Court of California. The Supreme Court of California is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the judiciary of California. Its membership consists of the Chief Justice of California and six Associate Justices who are nominated by the Governor of California and appointed after confirmation by the California Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission consists of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General of California, and the state's senior presiding justice of the California Courts of Appeal; the senior Associate Justice fills the Chief Justice's spot on the commission when a new Chief Justice is nominated. Justices of the Supreme Court serve 12-year terms and receive a salary which is currently set at $250,075 per year for the Chief Justice and between $228,703 and $236,260 per year for each Associate Justice.
Under the 1849 Constitution of California, the Supreme Court had a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, with six-year terms of office. An 1862 constitutional amendment expanded the Court to a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, with 10-year terms. Since the adoption of the 1879 Constitution, the Court has had a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, with 12-year terms.
The 1849 Constitution specified that the first Supreme Court justices would be appointed by the Legislature and that the justices would be subject to partisan direct elections from that point forward. The Governor could appoint justices in the event of a vacancy on the Court in between the elections. In 1910, elections for the Supreme Court became nonpartisan. In 1934, the state implemented the present system of gubernatorial appointment with retention elections, replacing the direct election of justices.

List of Justices

NameAssumed OfficeVacated OfficeAppointed by
S. Clinton Hastings*December 22, 1849January 1, 1852Legislature
Nathaniel BennettDecember 26, 1849October 3, 1851Legislature
Henry A. Lyons*December 26, 1849March 31, 1852Legislature
Hugh Murray*October 11, 1851September 18, 1857Governor McDougall
Solomon HeydenfeldtJanuary 20, 1852January 6, 1857Direct election
Alexander O. AndersonApril 6, 1852November 2, 1852Governor Bigler
Alexander WellsJanuary 3, 1853October 31, 1854Direct election
Charles Henry BryanNovember 24, 1854November 15, 1855Governor Bigler
David S. Terry*November 15, 1855September 12, 1859Direct election
Peter Hardeman BurnettJanuary 13, 1857October 12, 1857Governor J. N. Johnson
Stephen Johnson Field*October 13, 1857May 20, 1863Governor J. N. Johnson
Joseph G. BaldwinOctober 2, 1858January 2, 1862Direct election
Warner Cope*September 20, 1859January 2, 1864Governor Weller
Edward NortonDecember 18, 1861January 2, 1864Direct election
Edwin B. CrockerMay 21, 1863January 2, 1864Governor Stanford
John Currey*January 2, 1864January 6, 1868Direct election
Augustus Rhodes*January 2, 1864January 5, 1880Direct election
Silas Sanderson*January 2, 1864January 4, 1870Direct election
Lorenzo Sawyer*January 2, 1864January 10, 1870Direct election
Oscar L. ShafterJanuary 2, 1864December 11, 1867Direct election
Joseph B. CrockettDecember 1867January 5, 1880Governor Haight
Royal T. Sprague*January 6, 1868February 24, 1872Direct election
William T. WallaceJanuary 10, 1870January 5, 1880Direct election
Jackson TempleJanuary 10, 1870January 1, 1872Governor Haight
Addison NilesJanuary 1, 1872January 5, 1880Direct election
Isaac S. BelcherMarch 4, 1872January 5, 1874Governor Booth
Elisha W. McKinstryJanuary 5, 1874October 1, 1888Direct election
Robert F. Morrison*January 5, 1880March 2, 1887Direct election
Samuel B. McKeeJanuary 5, 1880January 3, 1887Direct election
Milton H. MyrickJanuary 5, 1880January 3, 1887Direct election
Erskine M. RossJanuary 5, 1880October 1, 1886Direct election
John SharpsteinJanuary 5, 1880December 28, 1892Direct election
James D. ThorntonJanuary 5, 1880January 5, 1891Direct election
Jackson TempleDecember 13, 1886June 25, 1889Direct election
Van R. PatersonDecember 22, 1886May 3, 1894Direct election
Thomas Bard McFarlandDecember 28, 1886September 1908Direct election
Niles Searls*April 20, 1887November 6, 1888Governor Bartlett
John D. WorksOctober 2, 1888January 5, 1891Governor Waterman
William H. Beatty*November 6, 1888August 4, 1914Direct election
Charles N. FoxJune 25, 1889January 7, 1895Governor Waterman
John J. De HavenDecember 18, 1890January 7, 1895Direct election
Charles H. GarouteDecember 19, 1890January 5, 1903Direct election
Ralph C. HarrisonDecember 20, 1890January 5, 1903Direct election
William F. FitzgeraldFebruary 2, 1893January 7, 1895Governor Markham
William C. Van FleetMay 7, 1894January 3, 1899Governor Markham
Frederick W. HenshawDecember 29, 1894January 1, 1918Direct election
Jackson TempleJanuary 7, 1895December 25, 1902Direct election
Walter Van DykeDecember 22, 1898December 25, 1905Direct election
Frank M. Angellotti*December 11, 1902November 15, 1921Direct election
Lucien Shaw*December 11, 1902January 1923Direct election
William G. LoriganJanuary 7, 1903January 1919Governor Gage
M. C. SlossDecember 19, 1906March 1, 1919Governor Pardee
Henry A. MelvinSeptember 28, 1908December 1920Direct election
Matt Sullivan*August 22, 1914January 4, 1915Governor H. Johnson
William P. LawlorJanuary 3, 1915July 25, 1926Direct election
Curtis D. Wilbur*January 1, 1918March 19, 1924Governor Stephens
Thomas J. LennonDecember 20, 1918August 14, 1926Direct election
Warren Olney Jr.March 1, 1919July 1921Governor Stephens
William A. SloaneMay 15, 1920January 7, 1923Governor Stephens
Charles A. ShurtleffJuly 2, 1921December 1922Governor Stephens
William H. Waste*November 25, 1921June 6, 1940Governor Stephens
Terry W. WardDecember 19, 1922January 8, 1923Direct election
Frank H. KerriganJanuary 8, 1923February 11, 1924Direct election
Emmett SeawellJanuary 8, 1923July 7, 1939Direct election
Louis Wescott Myers*January 15, 1923January 1, 1926Governor Richardson
John E. RichardsFebruary 11, 1924December 1932Governor Richardson
John W. ShenkApril 14, 1924August 3, 1959Governor Richardson
Jesse W. Curtis Sr.January 1, 1926January 1, 1945Governor Richardson
Frank G. FinlaysonOctober 4, 1926December 11, 1926Governor Richardson
Jeremiah F. SullivanNovember 22, 1926December 1926Governor Richardson
John W. PrestonDecember 27, 1926October 6, 1935Direct election
William LangdonJanuary 4, 1927August 1939Direct election
Ira F. ThompsonDecember 31, 1932August 4, 1937Governor Rolph
Nathaniel P. ConreyOctober 6, 1935November 2, 1936Governor Merriam
Douglas L. EdmondsNovember 23, 1936December 31, 1955Governor Merriam
Frederick W. HouserOctober 1, 1937October 12, 1942Governor Merriam
Jesse W. CarterSeptember 12, 1939March 15, 1959Governor Olson
Phil S. Gibson*October 2, 1939August 30, 1964Governor Olson
Roger J. Traynor*August 13, 1940January 31, 1970Governor Olson
B. Rey SchauerDecember 18, 1942September 15, 1964Governor Olson
Homer R. SpenceJanuary 2, 1945June 1, 1960Governor Warren
Marshall F. McCombJanuary 3, 1956May 3, 1977Governor Knight
Raymond E. PetersMarch 25, 1959January 2, 1973Governor P. Brown
Thomas P. WhiteAugust 25, 1959October 31, 1962Governor P. Brown
Maurice T. Dooling Jr.June 30, 1960June 30, 1962Governor P. Brown
Mathew TobrinerJuly 2, 1962January 20, 1981Governor P. Brown
Paul PeekDecember 2, 1962December 16, 1966Governor P. Brown
Stanley MoskSeptember 1, 1964June 19, 2001Governor P. Brown
Louis H. BurkeNovember 20, 1964November 30, 1974Governor P. Brown
Raymond L. SullivanDecember 20, 1966January 19, 1977Governor P. Brown
Donald Wright*April 17, 1970February 1, 1977Governor Reagan
William P. Clark Jr.March 23, 1973March 24, 1981Governor Reagan
Frank K. RichardsonDecember 2, 1974December 2, 1983Governor Reagan
Wiley ManuelMarch 24, 1977January 5, 1981Governor J. Brown
Rose Bird*March 26, 1977January 5, 1987Governor J. Brown
Frank C. NewmanJuly 16, 1977December 13, 1982Governor J. Brown
Otto KausJuly 21, 1981October 16, 1985Governor J. Brown
Allen BroussardJuly 22, 1981August 31, 1991Governor J. Brown
Cruz ReynosoFebruary 11, 1982January 4, 1987Governor J. Brown
Joseph GrodinDecember 27, 1982January 5, 1987Governor J. Brown
Malcolm M. Lucas*April 6, 1984May 1, 1996Governor Deukmejian
Edward A. PanelliDecember 24, 1985May 3, 1994Governor Deukmejian
John ArguellesMarch 18, 1987March 1, 1989Governor Deukmejian
David EaglesonMarch 18, 1987January 6, 1991Governor Deukmejian
Marcus KaufmanMarch 18, 1987January 31, 1990Governor Deukmejian
Joyce L. KennardApril 5, 1989April 5, 2014Governor Deukmejian
Armand ArabianMarch 1, 1990March 1, 1996Governor Deukmejian
Marvin R. BaxterJanuary 7, 1991January 5, 2015Governor Deukmejian
Ronald M. George*September 3, 1991January 3, 2011Governor Wilson
Kathryn WerdegarMay 3, 1994August 31, 2017Governor Wilson
Janice Rogers BrownMay 2, 1996June 30, 2005Governor Wilson
Ming ChinMarch 1, 1996PresentGovernor Wilson
Carlos R. MorenoOctober 18, 2001February 28, 2011Governor Davis
Carol CorriganJanuary 4, 2006PresentGovernor Schwarzenegger
Tani Cantil-Sakauye*January 3, 2011PresentGovernor Schwarzenegger
Goodwin LiuSeptember 1, 2011PresentGovernor J. Brown
Mariano-Florentino CuéllarJanuary 5, 2015PresentGovernor J. Brown
Leondra R. KrugerJanuary 5, 2015PresentGovernor J. Brown
Joshua P. GrobanJanuary 3, 2019PresentGovernor J. Brown