The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branches:the executive,consisting of the governor of California and the other constitutionally elected and appointed officers and offices;the legislative,consisting of the California State Legislature,which includes the Assembly and the Senate;and the judicial,consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. There is also local government,consisting of counties,cities,special districts,and school districts,as well as government entities and offices that operate independently on a constitutional,statutory,or common law basis. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative,referendum,recall and ratification.
The district courts of appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Florida state court system. There are currently six DCAs:
The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts. The Courts of Appeal form the largest state-level intermediate appellate court system in the United States,with 106 justices.
Ming William Chin is an American attorney and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California,serving from March 1,1996 to August 31,2020.
Martin Joseph Jenkins is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. He was previously a justice of the California Court of Appeal for the First District,located in San Francisco,and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by the California Constitution,there is a superior court in each of the 58 counties in California. The superior courts also have appellate divisions which hear appeals from decisions in cases previously heard by inferior courts.
Thomas William Caldecott was an American judge and Republican Party politician in California.
Walter J. Desmond was a lawyer,Postmaster,and Public Works Commissioner in Long Beach,California before serving as a Judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court and the California Court of Appeal.
The Alameda County Superior Court,officially the Superior Court of California,County of Alameda,is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions as the trial court for both criminal and civil cases filed in Alameda County.
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States. Koh previously served as a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010.
Daniel J. Kremer is a former Presiding Justice of the California Fourth District Court of Appeal,Division One,having been appointed to the post by Republican Governor George Deukmejian in 1985.
The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court,the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top,California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts,and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.
Kevin Christopher Newsom is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Maria Araújo Kahn is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She previously served as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 2017 to 2023.
Patricia Guerrero is an American judge who is the 29th Chief Justice of California and served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 2022 through December 2022. Guerrero was previously an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District,Division One from 2017 to 2022,a judge on the San Diego County Superior Court from 2013 to 2017 and an assistant U.S. attorney in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California from 2002 to 2003. On August 10,2022,Guerrero was nominated to the position of Chief Justice of California by Governor Gavin Newsom. She is a Democrat.
Kelli Evans is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. She previously served as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court.
