California Supreme Court Associate Justice Joshua P. Groban will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot in a nonpartisan retention election.

California voters will decide whether he should continue serving on California’s highest court.

A retention election asks voters to choose yes or no on keeping a justice in office, rather than select between competing candidates, according to the California Secretary of State’s voter guide.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown selected Groban for the court on Nov. 14, 2018, to fill the vacancy left by Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar’s retirement. The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed his nomination on Dec. 21, 2018, according to the Governor’s Office archive. He took office Jan. 3, 2019.

California voters retained Groban in November 2022 with 68.0% voting yes, according to the Secretary of State’s certified election results.

Candidate information

  • Name: Joshua P. Groban
  • Office: Associate justice, California Supreme Court
  • Election: Nonpartisan retention election
  • Hometown: Grew up in San Diego, where he attended public schools
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree, Stanford University, 1995; law degree, Harvard Law School, 1998

His educational background is listed in the official voter guide. His court biography describes his San Diego upbringing.

Experience and public service

Groban began his legal career clerking for Judge William C. Conner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1998 to 1999.

He worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison from 1999 to 2005 and Munger, Tolles & Olson from 2005 to 2010, according to the official voter guide.

In private practice, his civil litigation work included antitrust, internal investigations and intellectual property matters, according to his court biography.

Groban served as legal counsel for Brown’s gubernatorial campaign in 2010, according to the governor’s appointment announcement.

He then served as Brown’s senior adviser from 2011 to 2018, advising on judicial appointments, legal policy and legislative matters. His court biography credits him with advising the governor on more than 600 judicial appointments, roughly one-third of California’s judges.

Groban also lectured at UCLA School of Law from 2014 to 2018, according to the official voter guide. His court biography identifies his teaching subject as state appellate practice.

The Lamorinda Daily Gazette candidate questionnaire was sent to Joshua P. Groban. No questionnaire responses were available for this article. This profile is based on his official court biography and public records.