Pasadena voters weigh Groban retention on state high court

Pasadena voters will decide whether to retain Associate Justice Joshua P. Groban on the California Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Groban is certified for the ballot in this nonpartisan retention race, according to BallotReady election data.

Groban was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown 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, and he was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2019. California voters retained him in November 2022 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 have received at least two-thirds of the vote.

Candidate information

Born: Aug. 15, 1973
Hometown: San Diego, where he attended public schools
Education: Bachelor of arts, Stanford University (1995); juris doctor, Harvard Law School (1998)

Experience and public service

Before joining the bench, Groban worked in private practice and government, according to the Supreme Court of California website 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 Gov. 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 website. As senior advisor to Brown, he oversaw the appointment of approximately 600 judges throughout the state, roughly one out of every three judges in California. The Governor's Office called those appointments the most diverse in the state's history.