Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the Justice — California Supreme Court
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
Official bio from the California Supreme Court website:
Justice Patricia Guerrero was nominated to serve as the next Chief Justice of California by Gov. Gavin Newsom. If elected by voters at the Nov. 8 general election, Justice Guerrero would be the first Latina to serve as California’s Chief Justice, with a term beginning Jan. 3, 2023. Her nomination was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments.
Justice Guerrero was sworn in as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court in March 2022, making her the first Latina to serve on the state's high court.
Prior to being elevated to the California Supreme Court, Justice Guerrero had served as an associate justice at the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One since 2017.
A native of the Imperial Valley raised by immigrant parents from Mexico, Justice Guerrero began working in a grocery store at the age of 16 and graduated as co-valedictorian in high school. She continued working to help pay for her education while attending the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford Law School, where she earned a Juris Doctor degree. Justice Guerrero was active in the Latino Law Students Association and helped fellow students at the recruitment and retention center.
Prior to her appointment to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Justice Guerrero served as a judge at the San Diego County Superior Court from 2013 to 2017 and was supervising judge for the Family Law Division at the court in 2017. Justice Guerrero was hired as an associate at Latham & Watkins and became a partner in 2006. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California from 2002 to 2003.
Justice Guerrero has contributed many hours of pro bono work, including as a member of the Advisory Board of the Immigration Justice Project, to promote due process and access to justice at all levels of the immigration and appellate court system. She has assisted clients on a pro bono basis in immigration matters, including asylum applications and protecting vulnerable families by litigating compliance with fair housing laws.
As a justice on the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Justice Guerrero was chair of the State Bar’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam and chair of the Judicial Council of California Advisory Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions. Justice Guerrero has been active in Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye's “Judges in the Classroom” civics program.
In July, Justice Guerrero was elected to the American Law Institute, an independent national organization that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law. Justice Guerrero is also being recognized in October as a recipient of the annual Bernard E. Witkin award for Excellence in the Adjudication of the Law.
News coverage, etc.:
California chief justice nominee to go before voters in fall (KPBS/The Associated Press, August 26, 2022)
Newsom picks 1st Latina state Supreme Court chief justice (The Associated Press, August 10, 2022)
Judge confirmed as 1st Latina on California Supreme Court (The Associated Press, July 27, 2022)
The Commission on Judicial Appointments on Aug. 26 confirmed the nomination of Justice Patricia Guerrero as Chief Justice of California.
The nomination was approved by a unanimous vote of the commission—which includes Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and senior Presiding Justice of the state Courts of Appeal Manuel A. Ramirez—in the Supreme Court Courtroom in San Francisco. Justice Guerrero must now be elected by voters at the Nov. 8 general election in order to assume office in January.
A report by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation found Justice Guerrero "exceptionally well qualified" and the “ideal choice” for service as Chief Justice of California:
“She has had an exceptional career as a litigator in both the private and public sectors and possesses substantial experience in every area of the law at the trial and appellate level,” the committee wrote. “She is universally lauded for her superior intellect, clear writing, judicial temperament, work ethic, and compassion. Justice Guerrero also has significant managerial experience in both the private and public sectors, as well as on the bench, and is praised by other bench officers for her collegiality.”
PressFriends, a non-profit, youth-led organization serving elementary students in Los Angeles welcomes California's most recently appointed Supreme Court Justice Patricial Guerrero. Students from Forlay Learning Center, Parmelee Elementary, and John Mack Elementary Schools invited Justice Guerrero to a Q&A. They'll write an article that will appear in the PressFriends newsletter, distributed to schools in the University of Southern California area. More at www.pressfriends.org
Official bio from the California Supreme Court website:
Justice Martin J. Jenkins was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court on November 10, 2020 following his appointment by Governor Gavin Newsom. Previously, he served as Senior Judicial Appointments Advisor to Governor Newsom. Preceding his work for Governor Newsom, he served as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal.
Justice Jenkins’ judicial experience includes service as a federal district judge for the Northern District of California; he was appointed by President William Clinton in May 1997 and confirmed by the United States Senate in November 1997. Earlier, he served as a trial judge on the Oakland Municipal and Alameda County Superior Courts.
After graduating from Santa Clara University and before entering the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law, Justice Jenkins was briefly employed as a player by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. He obtained his law degree from USF in May 1980, when he received the Judge Harold J. Haley Award for “exceptional distinction in scholarship, character, and activities.” After graduation, Justice Jenkins worked as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. He subsequently served as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division-Criminal Section in Washington D.C., and later was an attorney in Pacific Bell’s Legal Department where he handled a wide variety of litigation matters.
Justice Jenkins has been the recipient of numerous awards, including The St. Thomas More Award, presented annually by the St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco, “In Recognition of His Distinguished Record of Service and Dedication to His Church, His Community, and His Family,” and the 2009 Children’s Advocacy Award, presented by Legal Services for Children, San Francisco, for “Outstanding leadership in public policy that protects children and youth from abuse and exploitation.” In 2018, the USF Board of Trustees conferred upon Justice Jenkins an honorary degree, “The Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa.”
News Coverage:
Newsom nominates Martin Jenkins to California Supreme Court, where he would be first openly gay justice
(San Francisco Chronicle, October 5, 2020)
On November 10, 2020, Justice Martin J. Jenkins was unanimously confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. This 80-minute video includes witness testimony, the confirmation proceedings, and the administration of the oath of office.
Witnesses in Support:
State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation:
Mr. Aminder Singh, Commission Chair
Official bio from the California Supreme Court website:
Justice Groban began serving on the California Supreme Court in January 2019. Previously he was the Senior Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown and advised the governor on judicial appointments, legal policy and legislative issues.
Justice Groban advised the governor on the appointment of over 600 judges, or roughly one out of every three judges in the state. He received numerous awards from bar groups and other legal organizations for his work on judicial appointments. He also served on a local school board, participated in mentor programs for college and law students, and frequently lectured on judicial appointments. Justice Groban has also taught State Appellate Practice at the UCLA School of Law.
Justice Groban had previously been in private practice, where he specialized in complex civil litigation, with a focus on antitrust, internal investigations, and intellectual property.
Justice Groban grew up in San Diego, where he attended public schools. He received his bachelor’s degree with honors and distinction from Stanford University. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude. Following graduation, he clerked for the Honorable William C. Conner in the Southern District of New York.
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