Peter K. Southworth (Sacramento County)
Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
insufficient Left–Right record (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label): Insufficient public record. Insufficient cite depth for ideology.
Judge matrix ThinNot enough public cites yet
Cite-only multi-axis Soft. FairPAC assessment — not an official court label. Evidence depth: Thin. Legacy letter alias: C (transitional only). How the matrix works.
- 1 · Role fidelity
- Thin · Thin
No sourced pattern attached yet. - 2 · Judicial craft
- Thin · Thin
No sourced pattern attached yet. - 3 · Rights & liberty
- Thin · Thin
No sourced pattern attached yet. - 4 · Public safety
- Thin · Thin
No sourced pattern attached yet. - 5 · Separation of powers
- Thin · Thin
No sourced 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 of California, County of Sacramento
- Office
- District / seat
- Sacramento County Superior Court
- County
- Sacramento County
- Appellate district
- District 3
- 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
Superior Court judge, Sacramento County — from official Governor Brown appointment announcement HTML.
Deep dive Deep
Cite-only career / advocacy Soft profile. FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label.
Background
Judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court (Governor appointment announcement). Also listed on the Sacramento County elections List of Elected Officials — Superior Court Judges as Peter K. Southworth.
Education
He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College. (per Governor appointment announcement).
Prior professional work
Southworth has served as chief deputy legal affairs secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. since 2014. He served as deputy secretary and general counsel at the California State Transportation Agency from 2013 to 2014. Southworth served in several positions at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 1997 to 2013, including supervising deputy attorney general in the Government Law Section and deputy attorney general in the Land Law Section and in the Government Law Section. He was an associate at Downey, Brand, Seymour and Rohwer from 1993 to 1997 and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California from 1992 to 1993. — per Governor appointment announcement.
Advocacy / public roles
Not yet sourced — researchable.
Appointment / elevation
Appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to serve as a Judge in the Sacramento County Superior Court. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Marjorie K. Durenberger. He is registered without party preference.
Wave 2 deepen from primary Governor Brown appointment announcement HTML. deepDive=Deep. Grade C until opinion/CJP cites. Never invent holdings/ideology.
Cite-only. We never invent career history or advocacy.
Why this grade — metrics
See methodology.
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
- Source · — source
- Commission on Judicial Performance — public decisions
- Grade methodology — methodology.html