Brian M. HoffstadtIncumbent

Candidate for Court of Appeal Justice, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 5, Seat 1

Brian M. Hoffstadt is the Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal. He leads the Second Appellate District, Division 5, in Los Angeles. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1992. His degree was in business administration. He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1995. He was first in his class. He clerked for Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall. Hall sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. His career includes service as special counsel to the FCC. That was the Federal Communications Commission, from 1997 to 1998. He was senior counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice next. That was the Office of Policy Development, from 1998 to 2000. He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles. That was from 2000 to 2007. He was a partner at Jones Day. That was from 2007 to 2010. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. That was in 2010. There he presided over criminal and civil calendars. Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Court of Appeal. That was Second District, Division 2, in 2014. He served there as an associate justice for ten years. Governor Gavin Newsom nominated him as Presiding Justice of Division 5. That was on September 30, 2024. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed him. He took his oath on November 25, 2024. He has taught as an adjunct professor at three schools. They are USC Gould School of Law, Loyola Law School, and George Washington University Law School. He teaches Evidence at USC Gould. He was appointed Presiding Justice mid-term. So he appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot, for that office. It is a nonpartisan yes/no retention vote, with no opposing candidate, for voters in the Second Appellate District.

Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.