Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

14 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Newsom Picks 1st Latina State Supreme Court Chief Justice
News
By News
Published 3 years ago on
August 11, 2022

Share

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday nominated Patricia Guerrero to be the state’s next chief justice, picking the daughter of Mexican immigrants to lead the nation’s largest judicial system.

Guerrero, 50, would replace Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who will step down once her term ends in January.

Guerrero made history earlier this year when she was the first Latina confirmed to the California Supreme Court. Now she’s poised to do it again as the first Latina to lead the state’s sprawling court system that includes about 2,175 judges across 58 trial courts and 105 justices on the Courts of Appeal.

“Justice Guerrero has established herself as a widely respected jurist with a formidable intellect and command of the law and deep commitment to equal justice and public service,” Newsom said in a news release announcing Guerrero’s nomination.

Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, California judges are not confirmed by the Legislature and do not get lifetime appointments. Guerrero must first be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, consisting of the chief justice, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Manuel Ramirez, the senior presiding justice of the state Court of Appeal.

After that, voters will decide in November whether to give Guerrero a 12-year term.

Guerrero’s background makes her qualified as the judicial branch’s chief executive, said David Ettinger, an appellate lawyer who writes a blog about the California Supreme Court. Guerrero has been a judge at all three levels of California’s judicial system, and before that was a partner at Lantham & Watkins, one of the largest law firms in the world.

“It’s important to remember that the chief justice is called the ‘chief justice of California,’ not the ‘chief justice of the Supreme Court,’” Ettinger said. “She leads not just the court, but the entire judicial branch.”

Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has made diversity a priority with his judicial appointments. In 2020, he nominated Martin Jenkins as the first openly gay man and only the third Black man to serve on the state Supreme Court. Earlier this year, he nominated Guerrero as the court’s first Latina member.

And on Wednesday, Newsom said he planned to nominate another LGBT member to the Supreme Court: Alameda Superior Court Judge Kelli Evans, who would take Guerrero’s spot once she is elevated to chief justice.

A graduate of Stanford Law School, Guerrero was a superior court judge in San Diego County from 2013 to 2017. She joined the fourth District Court of Appeal in 2017 before being confirmed to the state Supreme Court in March.

Guerrero is a registered Democrat and will be paid a salary of $293,286. She grew up in the Imperial Valley, raised by her parents who immigrated from Mexico.

“If confirmed, I look forward to continuing the strides the Court has made under Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye to expand equal access to justice and create a fairer justice system for all Californians,” Guerrero said in a news release.

Evans, 53, is from Oakland and grew up in public housing. She attended Stanford University and got a law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. She was chief deputy legal affairs secretary for Newsom, where she helped him shape a moratorium on capital punishment that Newsom issued in 2019.

In a news release, Evans said she was “truly honored” at the opportunity to be on the state Supreme Court.

“If confirmed, I look forward to furthering our state’s work to ensure equal justice under the law for all Californians,” Evans said.

Evans is a registered Democrat and would make $279,677.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

14 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

14 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

14 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

14 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

14 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

14 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

13 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
13 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

13 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend