Commission to Consider Appointment to Court of Appeal

Public documents are available here.

SAN FRANCISCO—The Commission on Judicial Appointments will hold a public hearing on September 26 starting at 11 a.m. to consider the appointment of:

• Judge Martha Gooding as an associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three (Santa Ana)

The hearings will be webcast live on the California Courts Newsroom.

The state Constitution specifies that a gubernatorial appointment to the Court of Appeal is effective when confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments.

The commission members who will consider the appointment are California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero (Chair), California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez.

Appointee Biography

Judge Martha Gooding would fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the late Justice Richard D. Fybel. Judge Gooding has served as an Orange County Superior Court judge since 2013. Judge Gooding was a partner at Jones Day from 2011 to 2013, and a partner at Howrey LLP from 2000 to 2011. Judge Gooding was also a partner at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk and Rabkin from 1989 to 2000, where she was also an associate from 1983 to 1989. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Testimony and Comment

Requests to testify or written comments on the appointment must be received by the commission no later than 5 p.m. Sept. 18 (five court days prior to hearing). Anyone wishing to testify before the commission must state that request in writing and include a summary of the facts on which any testimony or opinion will be based.

Submissions via email to coja@jud.ca.gov are strongly encouraged. Hard copies are not required.

If you would like to mail your request, you may also reach the commission at:

Commission on Judicial Appointments
c/o Chief Justice of California
Supreme Court of California
350 McAllister Street
San Francisco, California 94102
Attention: Secretary to the Commission

Guidelines for the Commission on Judicial Appointments are published in the appendix to the California Rules of Court and are posted on the California Courts website.