A Big First Could Be Coming for California's Supreme Court

Governor nominates openly gay justice
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 6, 2020 12:03 AM CDT
California Could Soon Have a Big First on Its Supreme Court
This photo from streaming video provided by the Office of the Governor shows Justice Martin Jenkins.   (Office of the Governor via AP)

For the first time in California's history, the state's Supreme Court could have an openly gay justice. Martin Jenkins was nominated to the high court by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday; if confirmed, he would also be the third Black man to ever sit on the court, the Mercury News reports. Jenkins, of Oakland, has "spent a lifetime overcoming odds, breaking down barriers and blazing new trails," Newsom said in making his announcement. Democrats already have a majority on the seven-member court; Jenkins would be replacing the court's most conservative justice, Ming W. Chin, who retired Aug. 28. In addition to working as a civil rights attorney and county prosecutor, and of course a judge on many different courts, Jenkins was once a Seattle Seahawks player, CNN reports. (More California Supreme Court stories.)

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