Martha K. GoodingIncumbent

Candidate for Court of Appeal Justice, California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division 3, Seat 4

Martha K. Gooding is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. She sits on the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, in Santa Ana. She earned her B.A. from Cal State Long Beach. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her J.D. in 1981 from Berkeley Law. There she graduated first in her class. She was also Order of the Coif. She clerked for Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. He sat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She then practiced civil litigation for roughly three decades. She was a partner at a San Francisco firm starting in 1989. That firm was Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin. She helped open the firm's Southern California office in 1992. She was later a partner at Howrey LLP. That started in 2000. She then became a partner at Jones Day in Irvine. That started in 2010. Governor Jerry Brown appointed her to the Orange County Superior Court. That was in December 2013. She served on the limited criminal panel there. From 2016 she served on the civil panel. Governor Gavin Newsom nominated her to the Court of Appeal. That was on May 19, 2023. The State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation rated her 'exceptionally well qualified.' The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed her unanimously. That was on September 26, 2023. She joined the appellate court after the last governor's election. So the November 3, 2026 election is her first appellate retention vote. Voters will cast a yes/no vote on whether she remains. She has no opposing candidate.

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