Kelli M. Evans

Kelli M. Evans is a judge of the California Supreme Court. She assumed office on January 2, 2023. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Evans to the Supreme Court after Patricia Guerrero was elevated to Chief Justice.

She was appointed to Superior Court of Alameda County, California on July 9, 2021 by Gavin Newsom (D) to replace Thomas C. Rogers.

Biography

Evans served as an Assistant Public Defender at the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office in 1995, as an Attorney for the ACLU of Northern California from 1995 to 1998, and as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1998 to 2001.

From 2001 to 2004, she worked as an Associate at Relman and Associates. From 2006 to 2010, she worked as a Partner at Independent Assessment & Monitoring LLP. In 2010, Evans returned to the ACLU of Northern California to work as Associate Director until 2013. She was Senior Director for the Administration of Justice at the California State Bar from 2014 to 2017 and then Special Assistant to the Attorney General at the California Department of Justice from 2017 to 2019.

From 2019 to 2020, Evans worked as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for Criminal Justice in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, where she worked as Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary from 2020 to 2021.^[1]

Elections

2023

See also:California Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2023)

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Kelli M. Evans to the California Supreme Court effective January 2, 2023.^[2] Evans succeeded Patricia Guerrero, who was nominated to the position of chief judge on the court on August 10, 2022.^[2] Evans was Gov. Newsom's third nominee to the seven-member court.

At the time of the vacancy under California law, vacancies were filled by gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges were required to participate in yes-no retention elections at the time of the next gubernatorial race, held every four years.

State supreme court judicial selection in California

See also: Judicial selection in California

The seven justices of the California Supreme Court are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The state bar's Commission on Judicial Nominee Evaluation—also known as the "Jenny Commission"—is required to perform an extensive investigation on prospective appointees. The commission recommends candidates to the governor after examining their qualifications and fitness, ranking them as exceptionally well qualified, well qualified, qualified, or not qualified. The commission is composed of attorneys and public members.^[3][4] Although the governor is not bound to these recommendations, the Commission on Judicial Appointments can approve or veto the appointment by majority vote.^[5]

Following confirmation from the Commission on Judicial Appointments, the appointed justice is sworn into office and is subject to voter approval at the next gubernatorial election. The appointed justice must be confirmed by voters via a yes-no retention election. According to the California Constitution, the term for a supreme court justice is 12 years. If retained by the voters, the appointed justice remains in office but their term may depend on their predecessor's term. If the predecessor served part of their term before leaving office, the appointed justice would be retained to serve the remainder of their predecessor's term. This would be for either four or eight years. At the end of that term, the justice again must be confirmed by the voters at a gubernatorial election to begin a new 12-year term.^[6][7] If a justice has been appointed to a seat where the predecessor's term would have expired the January 1 immediately after that November gubernatorial election, then the justice would serve a full 12-year term.^[8]

Qualifications

To serve as a justice, a candidate must have practiced law for at least 10 years in California or served as a judge in California for at least 10 years.^[8]

Chief justice

The court uses the same process described above for selecting its chief justice. The governor, with commission approval, appoints a chief justice for a full 12-year term.^[9]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment. Appointed judges are required to participate in yes-no retention elections occurring at the time of the next gubernatorial race, which is held every four years.^[8]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

See also

External links

Footnotes

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