Joshua Groban
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
left Left–Right record (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label): Left-leaning record. Left-leaning record (FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment — not an official court label). Signals: (1) Appointed by Governor Newsom (2018) — https://supreme.courts.ca.gov/about-court/justices. (2) Former senior advisor to Governor Newsom. (3) Majority vote in Bonta v. Bianco (S295901) affirming AG direction of sheriffs. (4) Majority vote in Cervantes v. Bianco (S295866) on ballot-seizure limits (election-admin; mixed localist read).
Research status: grades use public cites only; thin records stay C until sourced. How we research.
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Office
- Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
- District / seat
- California Supreme Court
- Election
- retention · 2026-11-03
- Grade
- F Out of touch on the basics
- Record lean
- left
Ballot question
Shall Associate Justice of the Supreme Court JOSHUA GROBAN be elected to
Voting / case record
- Cervantes v. Bianco (2026) — majority. Joined the Court majority holding ballot seizure by the sheriff unlawful under Elections Code safeguards. source
Cervantes v. Bianco, S295866 · California Supreme Court published opinion PDF (filed 2026) - Bonta v. Bianco (2026) — majority. Joined the Court majority on Attorney General authority to direct sheriffs regarding a particular investigation. source
Bonta v. Bianco, S295901 · California Supreme Court published opinion PDF (filed 2026)
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
- key_case_votes (medium): election_admin_majority — Mixed / thin ideological scoring: verified 2026 majority votes in Cervantes v. Bianco (ballot seizure unlawful) and Bonta v. Bianco (AG direction to sheriffs). Insufficient bar/JNE or reversal-rate data in this pack. link
- appointment_and_prior_role (medium): Newsom 2018 + Former senior advisor to Governor Newsom — Appointed to California Supreme Court by Governor Gavin Newsom (2018). Prior role as senior advisor to the appointing progressive governor. 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