California Supreme Court Associate Justice Joshua P. Groban is on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot for a retention vote. Voters across California, including in the South Bay, will see a yes-or-no question: should Groban continue serving on the state's highest court?

The race is nonpartisan. Groban is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Governor Jerry Brown appointed Groban on Nov. 14, 2018, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, according to the California Governor's Office archive. The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed him on Dec. 21, 2018. He was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2019.

In the November 2022 election, California voters retained Groban with 68.4% of the vote, according to Wikipedia. Recent retention elections in California have rarely proved contentious, according to Bolts Magazine. Over the last three midterm cycles, all justices received at least two-thirds of the vote, according to Bolts.

Candidate information

  • Full name: Joshua P. Groban
  • Date of birth: Aug. 15, 1973
  • Hometown: San Diego, where he attended public schools
  • Education: Bachelor of arts, Stanford University (1995); juris doctor, Harvard Law School (1998)
  • Appointed by: Governor Jerry Brown (2018)

Experience and public service

Before joining the bench, Groban worked in private practice and government, according to the Supreme Court of California's biography page and the Governor's Office archive.

  • Law clerk, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, for Judge William C. Conner (1998–1999)
  • Attorney, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (1999–2005)
  • Attorney, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (2005–2010)
  • Legal counsel, Jerry Brown for Governor campaign (2010–2011)
  • Senior advisor, Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. (2011–2018)
  • Lecturer, UCLA School of Law (2014–2018), according to CalMatters
  • Associate justice, California Supreme Court (Jan. 3, 2019–present)

In private practice, Groban specialized in complex civil litigation with a focus on antitrust, internal investigations and intellectual property, according to the Supreme Court of California. As senior advisor to Brown, Groban oversaw the appointment of approximately 600 judges throughout the state, roughly one out of every three judges in California, according to the Governor's Office archive. The Governor's Office described those appointments as the most diverse in the state's history.

On the issues

No issue responses or policy positions from Justice Groban were available for this profile.

Endorsements

No endorsements were supplied for this profile.

This profile was compiled from publicly available sources including the Supreme Court of California, the California Governor's Office archive, CalMatters, Bolts Magazine and Wikipedia. No candidate questionnaire responses were available.