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: and hover your pointer over “Appointments” and then
click on Judicial in the dropdown menu. Or go to the webpage, 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 it
as 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
J UDICIAL C OUNCIL
OF
C ALIFORNIA
COUNCIL ON ACCESS AND FAIRNESS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON
PROVIDING ACCESS AND
FAIRNESS
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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 a
t
leas
t two and possibly three mandatory evaluatio
n processes. T
he governor’s
office
mak
es
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
or in 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, that person might be contacted.
If your application on its face shows that you are smart, hardworking, skilled in the law, well-
rounded and have the breadth of life experience sought by the governor, and if the vetting
process by the JSAC uncovers no areas of concern, the governor’s office may forward your
application to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE Commission)
for formal vetting. The threshold for sending a candidate to JNE Commission is very high. If
you are sent to JNE Commission for evaluation, the current administration considers you a
viable candidate for appointment.
Your supporters as well as persons who may be less than enthusiastic about your aspirations
will receive a JNE Commission evaluation form and will be able to weigh in on whether or not
you should be appointed. Every individual listed in your application and in your list of personal
references will receive a JNE Commission evaluation form. In addition, members of your firm,
office, school and organizations to which you belong, many, if not all of the judges in your
county, as well as licensees of the bar, may also receive a JNE Commission evaluation form.
The second step is a formal evaluation by the JNE Commission before the governor can
appoint you. It is important that you have a working knowledge of the rules of procedure
governing the JNE Commission and the qualities the JNE Commission must consider in
evaluating candidates, so review the JNE Commission Rules.
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However, unlike the vetting done by the JSAC, the JNE Commission must disclose to you any
criticisms that have been found to be “substantial and credible,” and you will be given an
opportunity to respond to those criticisms during an interview with your assigned JNE
commissioners. You should get input from your mentors on how to respond to any criticism
you may receive. After your JNE interview, the full JNE Commission considers you, and reports
to the governor’s office a rating of exceptionally well qualified (EWQ), well qualified (WQ),
qualified (Q), or not qualified (NQ).
In addition to being vetted by the local JSAC and the JNE Commission, you may also undergo a
third evaluation by your county bar association. Similar to the JNE Commission evaluation
process, your county bar association will gather information about you, interview you, and also
give you a rating of EWQ, WQ, Q, or NQ, and report its rating to the governor’s office. Once you
know that you are going to the JNE Commission, contact your references and other supporters
listed in your application to let them know that they may be contacted, and ask them to please
promptly fill out and return all evaluation forms they receive. Many people will fill out one
form and then throw out any subsequent ones, believing them to be duplicates. In fact, the
first may be from your county bar and the second and most important one from the JNE
Commission. The evaluation forms may also be sent to the rater’s “Junk Mail,” so take a
moment to inform the raters to check all folders in their email box. You want as many EWQ and
WQ ratings as possible sent to the JNE Commission as early as possible so they outweigh any
NQs.
Consider seeking an evaluation from any local or specialty bar association with which you
are
involved and having that organization send a letter of recommendation to the governor’s
office. Also, consider soliciting individual letters of recommendation from people who know
your work well and are well-respected in the legal community. It is not the number of letters
the governor's office may receive, it is the quality of the letters. Your supporters should
demonstrate how they know you personally and your suitability to be a judge.
4. KNOW YOURSELF
You need to be candid with yourself about why you are suited to be a judge, and why you
want to be a judge. Speak frankly with your judge mentor and ask about their life and work to
ensure that your expectations of a career on the bench are realistic. This is also a good time not
only to reflect upon whether there is anything in your personal or professional background that
would detract from your suitability as a judge, but also how you will address any issues in your
background in your application. While at the State Bar website, check your own State Bar
record for accuracy. You must disclose in your application any complaints against you and any
record of discipline, including any sanctions in excess of $1,000. Also, do a Google search of
yourself, because it is certain that the governor’s office, as well as the various screening
committees will also Google you or check other social media sites.
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5. KNOW YOUR LEVEL OF COMMITMENT TO THE ULTIMATE GOAL
If after reading the application worksheet and doing a candid self-evaluation you still wish to
pursue becoming a judge, we recommend that you schedule three sessions with yourself to
prepare the application, during which you devote time to answering the questions in the order
that we suggest on the following page. The time intervals between each session can be as long
or as short as you choose, but you should give your application priority. If you try to answer the
questions in chronological order in the worksheet, you will get bogged down on the ones that
are time-consuming and may feel that you are not making progress. Answering them in the
order we suggest will help you feel that you are indeed making great progress toward your
goal. Completing the draft application is more of a marathon than a sprint, so keep moving
forward.
6. KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF INATTENTIVENESS
Keep in mind that this is probably the most important job application that you will ever
complete. Typographical errors, grammatical errors, and general sloppiness will suggest that
you will approach your judicial duties in the same careless and haphazard way. While there are
no “litmus tests” for appointment, such as extensive trial experience, or a particular party
affiliation, failure to truthfully and candidly answer a specific question could automatically
preclude you from appointment.
In preparing your answers to the essay questions, be concise and answer the specific
question posed. Be thoughtful and keep in mind what you understand the governor is
looking for in a judge.
In providing contact information for your personal list of references, do a final check before you
submit your application to ensure that all information is current. Make sure that you have
contacted all individuals you use as a reference before including their names on your
application.
Before completing your online application, have your proposed final draft reviewed by your
mentor judge, and at least two very close, trustworthy, and candid friends. Be open to
constructive criticism, and make valid suggested changes to your application. Finally, please
review the instructions on the governor’s website, make sure you are ready to comply with
all requirements, and that you know what you must submit.
If there is a program on becoming a judge being given by a bar association or other group, try to
attend. Oftentimes, those involved in the judicial appointments process will be speaking about
what the governor’s office, the JNE Commission, and the bar associations are looking for in
judicial candidates, and you may get the opportunity to ask questions about the process.
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7. GET READY TO GO ONLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR FINAL APPLICATION
After you have completed your draft and incorporated into your worksheet all of the desired
changes based on the suggestions from your mentors and advisors, it will be time to submit
your application online. Allow yourself a minimum of three hours to complete this task, but you
are not required to complete the application in one sitting. When you begin the online
application, you should create an account. When you log off to take a break, you can save your
work in progress and return at a later time without having to start all over again. Make sure you
do not hit SUBMIT until you are completely done with your application.
i. Open up your Word worksheet so it will be available when you get ready to copy and paste
the text of your essays and other lengthy entries. Also, have a hard copy of your draft
application available for reference as you enter information in the dropdown menus
online.
ii. Go to the governor’s website and now click on the link “Superior Court Application.” This
will take you to the online version of the application. Carefully read and make sure you
understand the instructions before you begin entering information.
iii. Each time after you copy and paste an entry from your worksheet into the actual
application, be sure to proofread your answer carefully. Be alert to formatting changes
(e.g., apostrophes that get converted to question marks when pasted into the application)
that may have occurred.
iv. After you submit your application online, you must scan and email the following items to
judappts@gov.ca.gov: (1) your photograph and a current resume; (2) all written materials
submitted in response to any questions (make sure you identify the specific question the
written materials are responsive to and make sure you keep the governor’s specified page
limits for submissions); and (3) your signed Certification, Authorization, and Release,
which is found at the end of the worksheet.
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COMPLETING THE TRIAL COURT APPLICATION IN THREE SESSIONS
SESSION ONE: ORDER OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
1-6. Your name, preferred
position/county, ethnicity, etc.
23. Prior judicial applications
59. Describe your hobbies
and/or personal interests
7-12. Personal info 24. Runs for elected judicial office 63. Moral turpitude charges
13-14. Political party and dates 25. Military service 65. Bonded positions
15. Your state legislators
32. Able to perform judicial duties 68-69. Unpaid judgments /
orders; Tax liens/collections
16. Bilingual abilities 36. Total number career trials 70. Current on tax returns
17. Educational background
45-46. As current/past judicial
officer, 10 big cases
72. Opposition to appointment
18-19. Current employment 48. Officer/director of business 39. 10 big career cases – start
ii
20. Current specializations
51. Nonlawyer licenses & proof
of
good character
29. Essay – “Why do you want to
be
a judge?” first draft
iii
SESSION TWO: ORDER OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
21-22. Bar admission date; Courts
admitted to practice
34-35. Diversity of practice-past
five
years
60-61. Arrests/convictions/
investigations; Lawsuits/civil
proceedings/bankruptcies
26. Work History/Supervisors 37. Trials in past five years 62. Bar discipline/sanctions
27. Essay-Background-why
are you
qualified
44. Teaching experience-
college, university, law school
64. All licenses suspensions,
disciplines, charges
30. Professional accomplishment
you are most proud of
45-46. Current/past judicial
officer, 10 big cases, more work
66-67. Any clients sued you;
Malpractice claims
31. Describe your personality 49. Income from other than law 74. 5 personal references - draft
33. Specific areas of experience 50. Other public offices held 39. 10 big cases – more work on
SESSION THREE: ORDER OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
38. Big cases resolved without
trial in last five years
52. Significant
writings/publications/op-eds
73. Disclosures re negatives in
your background
40. Your published cases 53. Honors, awards, prizes 28. Essay – Role of attorney
/judge in improving society
41. Depositions taken/defended 54-56. Bar assns, private clubs 39. Ten big career cases - finish
42. Number of oral arguments on
dispositive motions
57. Pro bono legal services
29. Essay – “Why do you want to
be
a judge” final draft
43. Bar association or other law-
related activities in past five years
58. Community service/affairs
74. Five personal references –
final
list
47. Pro tem/arbitrator/mediator
work and significant cases
71. Bad press re your character or
job performance
Other things to do: get photo,
writings, resume ready to scan
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i
http://assembly.ca.gov; Go to “My Representative”
ii
First, list only the names of 12-15 cases that might serve as your significant cases handled as counsel. These
cases may include matters mediated or cases resolved before trial. The JNE Commission will send an
evaluation form to each opposing counsel and judge listed in your application. Include any high-profile cases,
as they may well be found through a Google search anyway. To locate current contact information of
opposing counsel, co-counsel or judges, go to “ATTORNEY SEARCH” at calbar.ca.gov. If you can’t locate a
retired judge, indicate the judge is retired.
iii
Think seriously about why you want to be a judge. This essay will speak volumes about what kind of judge you
will be. For your final essay, follow the “Goldilocks Rule” and make sure that the essay is: Not too hot and not too
cold; not too big and not too little; not too hard and not too soft; it should be just right!
