Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he is nominating Justice Martin Jenkins for Associate Justice to the California Supreme Court.
Justice Jenkins is a native Bay Area resident who has held several state and federal judicial positions throughout his career, including more than 10 years as a justice for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
He would be the first openly gay California Supreme Court justice and only the third Black man ever to serve on the state’s highest court.
"Justice Jenkins is widely respected among lawyers and jurists, active in his Oakland community and his faith, and is a decent man to his core," said Gov. Newsom. "The people of California could not ask for a better jurist or kinder person to take on this important responsibility."
He currently serves as an Associate Justice of the state’s court of appeals, a position he was appointed to by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by the governor to continue serving the people of California on the Supreme Court," said Jenkins. "If confirmed, I will serve with the highest ethical standards that have guided me throughout my career, informed by the law and what I understand to be fair and just."
Jenkins, 66, grew up in San Francisco’s Ingleside neighborhood and worked with his father cleaning office buildings and churches. His father spent 40 years as a clerk and janitor at Coit Tower.
He first became interested in the law when his mother was injured in an accident and a lawyer took on her case for free. But his legal career took a detour after he graduated from Santa Clara University and had a very short stint in the NFL as a cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks.
"(He) soon realized that rather than sitting on the football bench, his true calling was becoming a lawyer and pursuing a different bench as a judge," said the governor’s office in a news release.
He left the NFL for USF Law and worked as a prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney’s office before joining the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division where he prosecuted racial violence and police misconduct cases.
Justice Jenkins was first appointed to the Alameda County Superior Court bench by Gov. Pete Wilson and worked his way up from a municipal judge to the superior court and then the federal and state courts.
Colleagues describe him as a dedicated and conscientious jurist.
"I don’t know that there is anyone in the legal community who is more universally respected than Justice Jenkins," said Melinda Haag, partner at Orrick law firm and former U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California.
He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Justice Ming W. Chin.
In addition to his work on the bench, he has served for decades with various youth-focused non-profits in the Bay Area.
"Governor Newsom’s appointment of California's first openly gay supreme court justice is a monumental step forward for the LGBTQ+ community and for our entire state," said Equality California Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur. "Not only is Justice Jenkins exceptionally qualified and an outstanding choice for California's highest court, but he embodies the values of our great state."
The nomination will be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and must be confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, which consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal J. Anthony Kline.