Associate Justice William S. Dato is asking voters to keep him on the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division 1. The nonpartisan retention question appears on the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot.

A "yes" vote retains the justice. A "no" vote removes the justice from the bench.

Dato won his last retention vote on Nov. 6, 2018, with 64.2% voting yes out of 2,442,212 total votes, according to Ballotpedia.

Candidate information

  • Name: William S. Dato
  • Office sought: California Court of Appeal Associate Justice, District 4, Division 1 (retention)
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: A.B. in political science and economics, San Diego State University, 1977; J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1980

Experience and public service

Dato, a native San Diegan, built a legal career spanning more than four decades, according to the Fourth Appellate District's profile.

Before joining the bench, he served as an appellate court staff attorney at the California Supreme Court and the California Court of Appeal. He later entered private practice as a certified appellate law specialist, according to the court's profile.

Governor Gray Davis appointed Dato to the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, in October 2003, according to CourtListener. During 13 years on that bench, Dato served as supervising judge of the North County branch and presiding judge of the court's appellate division, among other assignments, according to the Fourth Appellate District's profile.

Governor Jerry Brown appointed Dato to the Fourth Appellate District, Division 1, in December 2016. The California Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed the appointment on Feb. 9, 2017, according to Ballotpedia.

Dato has also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law and California Western School of Law. His courses included appellate practice and products liability, according to the court's profile.

On the issues

No issue responses or policy statements from Dato were available for this profile.

Endorsements

No endorsement information was available for this profile.

Candidate information is drawn from the Fourth Appellate District's official biography, Ballotpedia and CourtListener. No candidate questionnaire responses were available.