Steve GoorvitchIncumbent

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

Stephen Goorvitch is one of the newest Associate Justices of the California Second District Court of Appeal. He serves in Division Two, in Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor's degree from UC San Diego. He earned a J.D. from Berkeley School of Law. He began his legal career in Washington, D.C. He was a staff attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was its Division of Enforcement, from 1998 to 2001. He then served as a law clerk. He clerked for Judge Nora M. Manella, Central District of California. That was from 2001 to 2002. He also clerked for Judge Rosemary S. Pooler. Pooler sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. That clerkship ran from 2002 to 2003. He was counsel at O'Melveny & Myers. That was from 2003 to 2007. He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. That was in the Central District of California, from 2007 to 2015. He joined the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2015. He served as a judge there for more than a decade. Governor Gavin Newsom nominated him to the Court of Appeal. That was on February 19, 2026, filling Justice Judith T. Ashmann-Gerst's vacancy. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him on May 22, 2026. Its members were Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild. He took the oath that day. He was appointed after the last governor's election. So he now comes before voters for the first time. The November 3, 2026 ballot asks Second Appellate District voters, yes or no, whether to retain him.

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