Mark SimonsIncumbent

Candidate for Court of Appeal Justice, California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division 5, Seat 2

Mark B. Simons is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Five. He earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1967. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1970. He clerked for Judge Alvin Rubin. Rubin served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Simons then practiced as an associate at Cooley Godward, from 1971 to 1973. From 1973 to 1980, he served as a deputy public defender in Contra Costa County. He was appointed to the Mt. Diablo Municipal Court in 1980. He was elevated to the Contra Costa County Superior Court in April 1995. He served as that court's presiding judge in 1999 and 2000. He joined the Court of Appeal in 2001. Voters have retained him twice. He has taught as an adjunct professor at Hastings College of the Law. His current term expires in January 2027. So he faces a nonpartisan yes-or-no retention vote, with no opponent, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, for a new 12-year term.

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