Pasadena voters will see a retention question for John Shepard Wiley Jr. on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. The question asks whether to keep him as associate justice on the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8.

The race is nonpartisan.

Wiley is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data. A retention election differs from a contested race: voters answer "yes" or "no" to the single question of whether the justice should remain on the bench.

Candidate information

  • Name: John Shepard Wiley Jr.
  • Office: Associate justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8
  • Birthplace: Iowa; moved to California at age 12 and attended public school through law school
  • Education: A.B., University of California, Davis; master's degree in economics, University of California, Berkeley; juris doctor, University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law

Experience and public service

Governor Jerry Brown appointed Wiley to the Court of Appeal on Nov. 27, 2018, succeeding Justice Laurence Rubin, according to the Second Appellate District's biography. The California Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed the appointment on Dec. 21, 2018.

Before joining the appellate bench, Wiley served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court from 2002 to 2018, according to the American Law Institute. The Second Appellate District, which includes Los Angeles County, hears appeals from trial courts across the region.

Wiley's career before the bench combined teaching, federal service and private practice. He was a tenured professor at UCLA School of Law from 1983 to 2005, where he won UCLA's Distinguished Teaching Award, according to the Second Appellate District's biography. He also taught at Harvard Law School, according to BallotReady.

In federal service, Wiley served as counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and as an assistant and special assistant U.S. attorney, according to the American Law Institute. He clerked for Judge Frank M. Coffin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He served as a law clerk to Lewis F. Powell Jr., according to BallotReady.

In private practice, he worked as of counsel at Mayer, Brown & Platt. He also served as an examiner at the California Commission on Judicial Performance, according to the American Law Institute.

On the issues

The research packet does not include issue positions or policy statements from Wiley for this retention election.

The Pasadena Ledger did not receive candidate questionnaire responses from Wiley. This profile is based on publicly available court records and biographical data. Voters can find the retention question on the Nov. 3 ballot.