Posted on 03/13/2008 11:10:44 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO — When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first expressed a desire to appoint more judges of ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds, some leaders of minority bar associations were skeptical.
They expected him to appoint relatively few, the practice of previous Republican governors.
But the skeptics have been proved wrong, as growing numbers of experienced lawyers who belong to minority groups are applying for judgeships — and being appointed to the bench — as part of Schwarzenegger's effort to diversify courtrooms throughout the state.
About 22 percent of Schwarzenegger's judicial appointees to date identify themselves as Asian-American, Latino or African-American, up from a cumulative total of about 16 percent just 18 months ago. The percentages exceed the state's share of minority attorneys, yet fall short of reflecting the diversity of California's general population, which is a goal advocates are striving for.
Schwarzenegger's share of minority judicial appointments since taking office in late 2003 has surpassed that of governors Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, who served a full eight years each.
Diversity advocates praise Schwarzenegger but say much remains to be done.
"It's been promising to see the increase in numbers," said San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi, who is Japanese-American, "but you have to remember the bar was set very low."
Several factors prompted the increase in minorities:
-The factor with the most immediate impact was the governor's February 2007 hiring of Sharon Majors-Lewis as his top advisor for judicial appointments. The 59-year-old African-American lawyer from San Diego County highly values diversity.
-Minority bar associations and some state legislators relentlessly criticized Schwarzenegger's judicial picks his first two years in office.
-A new law requires the state to release demographic data on judicial applicants, which advocates say keeps the Schwarzenegger administration accountable.
Majors-Lewis has received high marks for encouraging hundreds of individuals affiliated with minority bar associations to apply, a recruitment strategy the administration hadn't actively pursued before her arrival.
"Not that minority attorneys didn't think of applying before," said Fredericka McGee, legal counsel to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, whose office has worked on legislation to boost judicial diversity. "It's that before, people believed filling out an application was a waste of time."
In 2007, 128 non-white applicants sought to be a judge, up from the 94 who applied in 2006.
"Sharon Lewis has a wonderful opportunity to select among a top group of diverse candidates because for the first time in the history of California, the pipeline is back flowing with exceptional candidates of very diverse backgrounds," said Maribel Medina, judicial appointments chair for California La Raza Lawyers.
According to state records, 31 percent of judicial applicants in 2007 belonged to a minority group, up from 29 percent from 2006.
"Creating a more diverse bench starts with having more diverse applicants, and as the numbers show, we are getting there," Schwarzenegger said in a statement last month. "I thank Sharon Majors-Lewis, my judicial appointments secretary, for all her hard work and successful outreach efforts over the last year to bring the best, brightest and most qualified individuals to our courts."
Majors-Lewis, who as a prosecutor was at times the only non-white legal professional in the courtroom, said diversity goes beyond race and ethnicity — she also scouts exceptional candidates who are white and come from non-traditional socio-economic backgrounds as well as applicants who are gay or disabled.
"I would love to see something of everyone on the bench," she said.
Judges from diverse backgrounds, Majors-Lewis said, bring a life experience that often proves beneficial when handling court cases. And the litigants benefit too, she said, because if the judge happens to be of their same race or ethnicity, they will feel more comfortable with the procedures, no matter the outcome.
Despite the gains of the past two years, advocates fear Schwarzenegger's diversity effort will stall because of the state deficit.
The $8 billion estimated shortfall has prompted a delay in funding for 60 new judges, which had been touted as an ideal opportunity to increase diversity.
Majors-Lewis said regardless of the delay, judicial vacancies will still come up, and she'll continue to seek applicants.
Meanwhile, diversity supporters have employed another strategy: Led by Assemblyman Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles, they want Schwarzenegger to make the judicial screening process more transparent by releasing the identities of the members of regional vetting committees that report to Majors-Lewis.
The groups, called Judicial Selection Advisory Committees, but known to others as "secret committees," are private, and there is long held suspicion that most committee members are white men who don't value diversity.
But Majors-Lewis, who argues for secrecy so members aren't lobbied by applicants, said members do come from diverse backgrounds, though she said she didn't know how many belonged to which minority groups.
Davis' legislation to identify the committee members will be presented to the Assembly Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks.
Here’s a tragically under-represented group in CA - appoint someone rational.
No, but I'll bet they value ability - and the diversity/ability conflict is a zero-sum game.
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