Martha K. Gooding
Associate Justice
left Left–Right record (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label): Left-leaning record. Left-leaning record lean (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label). Signal: 2026 Court of Appeal retention/elevation cohort on the SOS certified list — recent gubernatorial elevations under Governor Gavin Newsom (progressive appointing authority). Source: California SOS Nov 3 2026 Official Certified List of Candidates (https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/statewide-elections/2026-general/cert-list-candidates.pdf). Insufficient verified case-vote pattern in this pack for A/F; grade remains C pending richer scoring.
Research status: grades use public cites only; thin records stay C until sourced. How we research.
- Court
- Court of Appeal
- Office
- Associate Justice
- District / seat
- Court of Appeal, District 4, Division 3
- Appellate district
- District 4
- Election
- retention · 2026-11-03
- Grade
- C Mixed / thin record
- Record lean
- left
Ballot question
Shall Associate Justice MARTHA K. GOODING be elected to the office for the
Voting / case record
Voting / case record: limited public data — see courts.ca.gov published opinions; specific vote extraction pending for this profile.
California published opinions · CJP decisions
About this listing
Official SOS retention/elevation question for Nov 3 2026 general election.
Why this grade — metrics
- cjp_public_discipline (high): none_attached_in_pack — No public CJP discipline record attached for this judge in this build. link
- record_depth (medium): thin — Thin evidence → C per methodology. link
- appointment_cohort (low): Newsom-era COA retention/elevation — Ideology lean from appointing-era cohort; grade stays C without stronger case-vote or CJP cites. link
Public discipline (CJP)
Check the Commission on Judicial Performance before relying on any grade. We do not invent findings.
cjp.ca.gov decisions by judges
Sources
- November 3, 2026, General Election — Official Certified List of Candidates · 2026-08-27 — source
- Commission on Judicial Performance — public decisions
- Grade methodology — methodology.html