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Joshua Groban
Associate Justice, California Supreme Court
Full 12-year termExceptionally Well Qualified (State Bar, 2018)Not a former trial judge
Former corporate litigator and judicial-appointments adviser; never a trial judge. Wrote the 6-1 ruling striking down a required warning on police complaint forms.
On your ballot. Vote Yes or No on keeping Joshua Groban on the court (full 12-year term). Appears on ballots in every California county.
Qualifications
Appointment. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, 2018. Retained in 2022 with 68%.
Outside rating. Exceptionally Well Qualified
From the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, given before the 2018 appointment. This is the commission's assessment, not Trellis's. It was made for the appointment, not for this election; we found no bar rating issued for this retention vote.
Before the bench. Corporate litigator at Paul, Weiss and Munger, Tolles & Olson (antitrust, internal investigations, intellectual property). Later Gov. Brown's senior adviser on judicial appointments, helping select more than 600 judges. Never served as a trial judge.
Conduct
No public discipline or controversies found.
What others recommend
- YesGrowSF (moderate civic group)
- YesSan Francisco Chronicle (newspaper editorial board)
- YesSF League of Pissed Off Voters (progressive group)
- YesIndivisible Marin (Yes on all California justices) (progressive group)
- YesPotrero Hill Democratic Club (Democratic club)
- NoCraig Huey voter guide (conservative guide)
- NoReform California (conservative guide)
- NoLos Angeles County Republican Party (Republican Party)
- NoContra Costa Republican Party (Republican Party)
Robyn Nordell's conservative guide repeats Craig Huey's picks, so it is not listed separately.
Trellis does not make recommendations. These are positions published by outside groups as of October 16, 2026. Labels describe each group's general leaning.
Notable rulings
- Free speech & privacyPolice complaint forms (2025). Wrote the 6-1 majority striking down a law that made people filing complaints against police sign a warning that false complaints can be prosecuted. The court said it discouraged truthful complaints. Read the opinion ›
- Criminal justicePeople v. Chhuon and Pan (2026). Wrote the 4-3 majority in a death penalty case: upheld one death sentence, overturned the other defendant's conviction because his lawyer overrode his right to choose his defense goal. Read the opinion ›
- Criminal justiceBail affordability (2026). In a unanimous ruling requiring judges to consider whether a defendant can afford bail, wrote separately that unaffordable bail for people not accused of violent or sexual crimes is generally inconsistent with the right to pretrial release. Read the opinion ›
From the trial court record
Never served as a trial judge, so there is no trial court record to show.
Sources: CalMatters voter guideCourt bio
Others on the same ballot
- Kelli M. EvansFormer public defender and federal civil rights attorney; Alameda trial judge 2021 to 2023. Has repeatedly voted to overturn death sentences under the Racial Justice Act.