Kelley A. Paul (Santa Clara County)
Judge of the Superior Court, Santa Clara County
insufficient Left–Right record (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label): Insufficient public record. Insufficient public record for a left/right lean. FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label.
Judge matrix ThinNot enough public cites yet
Cite-only multi-axis Soft. FairPAC assessment — not an official court label. Evidence depth: Moderate. Legacy letter alias: C (transitional only). How the matrix works.
- 1 · Role fidelity
- Thin · Thin
Role theory not sourced from published method statements yet. - 2 · Judicial craft
- Thin · Thin
Craft axis not separately sourced yet. - 3 · Rights & liberty
- Thin · Thin
No sourced liberty-axis pattern attached yet. - 4 · Public safety
- Thin · Thin
No sourced safety-axis pattern attached yet. - 5 · Separation of powers
- Thin · Thin
No sourced separation-of-powers pattern attached yet. - 6 · Ethics & fitness
- No public discipline on file · N/A
Absence of attached public CJP discipline is not a purity claim.
Research status: grades use public cites only; thin records stay C until sourced. How we research.
- Court
- Superior Court
- Office
- Judge of the Superior Court, Santa Clara County
- District / seat
- Santa Clara County Superior Court
- County
- Santa Clara County
- Appellate district
- District 6
- Election
- unknown
- Composite
- ThinNot enough public cites yet Researchable but unsourced — default until cites land. Alias of legacy C when thin.
- Legacy letter
- C Mixed / thin record (alias only)
- Record lean
- insufficient
Public decisions (chronological · cite-only)
Voting / case record: limited public data
This section will grow chronologically as published opinions / CJP decisions are Soft-attached. We never invent case holdings or a complete trial docket.
California published opinions · CJP decisions
About this listing
Sitting judge listing sourced from the Santa Clara County Superior Court public judicial directory/assignments (pack scrape 2026-09-25). Not necessarily on the Nov 3 2026 ballot.
Deep dive Partial
Cite-only career / advocacy Soft profile. FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label.
Background
Santa Clara Superior Court judge appointed 2022; presides over the Felony Mental Health Calendar; co-chair of New Judicial Officer Bridging Committee; member of Judicial Community Outreach Committee (per court biography PDF).
Education
Not yet sourced — researchable.
Prior professional work
Deputy public defender for over twenty years before joining the bench; taught Forensics and the Law at Santa Clara University School of Law; frequent national speaker on forensic evidence (per court biography PDF).
Advocacy / public roles
Not yet sourced — researchable.
Appointment / elevation
Appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in 2022 (per court biography PDF).
Soft Partial (3 cited subsections; education Soft-empty — degree not stated in PDF).
Cite-only. We never invent career history or advocacy.
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 — Roster-only Thin until published-opinion or CJP cites attached. 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
- Public judicial officers / assignments directory · 2026-09-25 — source
- Commission on Judicial Performance — public decisions
- Grade methodology — methodology.html