Methodology
How Wake the Bench assigns A / C / F grades and left–right record leans. FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessments — not official court labels. We never invent CJP findings or case holdings.
| Grade | Meaning | When we use it |
|---|---|---|
| A | Common-sense record | Sourced public-safety / parental-rights / anti-bureaucracy case-vote patterns (published opinions) |
| C | Mixed / thin record | Insufficient public evidence for A or F; explicit note required |
| F | Out of touch on the basics | Public CJP discipline/censure OR sourced progressive-bench signals with cites |
A and F require cites; thin → C.
Source of truth: data/grade-rubric.md. Never invent CJP findings or holdings.
Research status
Wake the Bench scores from public records only. We can determine grades when CJP public discipline, SOS retention/candidate lists, court rosters, published opinions, or loaded bar/JNE / election statements supply cites. Rows without a verified vote pattern or CJP attachment stay C with an explicit thin-record note and (usually) insufficient lean — researchable-but-not-yet-sourced, not a claim that the record is unknowable. We never invent holdings, CJP findings, ideology, or stats. This pack covers ballot/retention seats plus seeded Superior samples; California has many more Superior Court judges still to mine, and grades tighten as cites are verified.
Metric weights
- CJP / public discipline (high) — Public censure, removal, suspension, or public admonishment from cjp.ca.gov → lean F. Private discipline is not used. No CJP hit attached ≠ “clean forever”; it means none attached in this pack.
- Key case votes / patterns (high) — Verified published majority/dissent/concur with plain-English summary + citation/PDF. Public-safety affirmances (e.g., denying expansive resentencing, affirming criminal judgments) can support A. Documented progressive-bench patterns can support F when sourced. Unverified holdings are never invented.
- Bar / JNE / county bar ratings (medium) — Used only when a public rating is loaded. Not loaded for most rows in this build → ignored rather than guessed.
- Reversal / overturn rate (medium) — Used only when published. Not loaded in this build.
- Appointment / campaign finance (low) — Only if documented and never enough alone for A or F.
- Time-to-disposition / backlog (low) — Only if sourced. Not loaded in this build.
Default when evidence is thin
C with an explicit “insufficient public record” note. A and F require cited evidence.
Left–Right record lean
Field ideologyLean: left | center | right | insufficient. Derived only from documented case votes, sentencing/public-safety patterns, and similar sourced signals. Appointing governor is contextual, never sole proof. Thin evidence → insufficient (or center with a mixed-signal note). Always labeled as a FairPAC / Wake the Bench assessment.
Geography
Browse by county (Superior), appellate district (Court of Appeal), and statewide Supreme. County → appellate district mapping lives in data/counties.json and meta.geography.
Sources & raw pulls
- California SOS Nov 3 2026 certified candidate list (retention justices)
- County Superior Court public judicial directories (Orange, San Diego scrapes under
data/raw/) - CJP decisions-by-judge index + published discipline PDFs
- California Courts published opinion PDFs (sample votes under
data/raw/opinions/)