Charles Smiley ’97 Elevated to Key Role on California Appeals Court

Judge Charles A. Smiley ’97 is expected to bring decades of legal expertise to his new role as an associate justice on California’s First District Court of Appeal, Division One.

After overseeing civil and criminal cases in the East Bay for more than a decade, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Charles A. Smiley ’97 has been elevated to a higher branch of the state judiciary.  

Gov. Gavin Newsom in November nominated Judge Smiley to serve as an associate justice on California’s First District Court of Appeal, Division One. The First District Court of Appeal serves 12 coastal and Bay Area counties including Alameda, Napa, and San Fransisco.  

Judge Smiley served Alameda County as a public defender for 10 years, then as a judge at the Alameda County Superior Court since 2012. He also served as a presiding judge of the Alameda County Superior Court in 2022-23, during which time he oversaw the court’s reopening from pandemic-era restrictions and its transition to electronic filing and storage for all court divisions.  

In 2017, California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye tapped Judge Smiley for a pivotal role on the Power of Democracy Steering Committee, a statewide initiative championing civic education and youth engagement. A leader with deep community roots, Judge Smiley has served as a board member of the California Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), the Charles Houston Bar Association (CHBA), and the Wiley Manuel Law Foundation. His work has earned him prestigious honors, such as the Hon. Thelton Henderson Judicial Excellence Award from CHBA and CABL’s 2018 Hon. Bernard S. Jefferson Judge of the Year Award. 

Alongside his judicial work, Judge Smiley has contributed to academia, teaching at some California’s most prestigious public universities, including UC Berkeley and his alma mater, UC Law SF, where he earned his JD.  

At UC Law SF, Judge Smiley taught trial advocacy as an associate adjunct professor from 2004-07. His commitment to teaching the next generation of lawyers continues in his current academic position at UC Berkeley School of Law.