Patricia Guerrero

Patricia Guerrero (born December 7, 1971) 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.

Education Guerrero was born in California to parents from Mexico. She was raised in the Imperial Valley. At the age of 16, Guerrero worked at a grocery store. Guerrero graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1994. She earned a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1997.

Career Guerrero performed pro bono work as a member of the Immigration Justice Project advisory board. and is the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court of California. On August 26, she was confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. , following the 2022 election, she was retained by California voters to be elevated as the chief justice with 70% of an affirmative vote. She was sworn in as chief justice on January 2, 2023.

Justice Guerrero gave the 2025 State of the Judiciary address to the California Legislature reaffirming the CA judicial branch's commitment to uphold its responsibilities to serve the public in a pursuit to justice for all Californians.

Guerrero also serves as the chair of the California Supreme Court Historical Society, a non-profit organization that primarily conducts historical research on the California Supreme Court.