Newsom chooses veteran justice to help him pick judges

In naming Justice Martin J. Jenkins as his judicial appointments secretary, Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken a different approach than most past governors, including his predecessor.

Most judicial appointments secretaries, such as Joshua P. Groban — who helped former Gov. Jerry Brown choose more than 600 judges and justices — have little or no judicial experience and are rewarded at the end of their tenure with a bench position. Brown named Groban to the state Supreme Court, and the new justice was sworn in this month.

By contrast, Jenkins, 65, has been a judge since Groban was in high school, serving on nearly every type of court where one can serve, most recently as a justice on the 1st District Court of Appeal, Division Three.

His decision to leave the bench to join Newsom’s administration, taking a $35,000 pay cut in the process, came as a surprise to some.

Jenkins will make $185,000, $15,000 less than Legal Affairs Secretary Catherine E. Lhamon and about the same as Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary Analea Patterson.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for him to have a positive impact on the judiciary and leave something to be proud of,” said Peter J. Siggins, presiding justice of the 1st District Court of Appeal, Division Three. “I think it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.”

Brown left five open seats, according to the latest figures from the Judicial Council. But if he sticks around for several years, Jenkins too could play a role in naming hundreds of judges. By leaving the bench himself, he immediately created one such opportunity.

“To my knowledge, this is the first time a serving bench officer has left the judiciary to become the judicial appointments secretary,” said David A. Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center at UC Berkeley School of Law. “It’s so obvious: Who better than a justice to judge judicial qualifications?”

More typically, Carrillo added, the path has led in the other direction.

Jenkins was not available for comment Tuesday, according to the governor’s office.

His move may reflect the higher profile of judicial appointments, following years of contentious fights over spots on the U.S. Supreme Court. According to multiple sources speaking off the record, several superior court judges and at least one other current appeals court judge also sought consideration for the job.

Until recently, there was a question over whether such a move was even legal, noted David S. Ettinger, of counsel with Horvitz & Levy LLP in San Francisco and the author of the At the Lectern blog covering the state Supreme Court.

A 4th District Court of Appeal ruling in 2014 established that a judge is barred by the California Constitution from taking other public sector employment only while currently on the bench, not after. It was written by Arthur Gilbert, presiding justice of 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division Six. Gilbert v. Chiang, 2014 DJDAR 8489.

One thing Jenkins and Groban have in common, several said, is that both are good at connecting with people.

“I bet you half the members of this bench think Marty is one of their best friends,” said Justice Therese M. Stewart of the 1st District, Division Two. “He’s warm and kind and listens well. Josh is similar.”

While a key part of Groban’s role was to diversify the state bench, Stewart said Jenkins embodies diversity on many levels all on his own. After prosecuting civil rights cases for the U.S. Department of Justice, he was a judge on the municipal court, superior court, and U.S. district court.

“He kind of has it all,” Stewart said. “He knows what it takes to be a good trial judge. He knows what it takes to be a good appeals justice, and he knows what it’s like to be a person of color and be underestimated.”

“Justice Jenkins is a long-standing member of the California Association of Black Lawyers, and we are elated at the governor’s decision to appoint him as the next judicial appointments secretary,” Damon M. Brown, the organization’s president and a special counsel with Littler Mendelson PC in Irvine, said in an email.

Newsom also named three deputy legal affairs secretaries on Monday. Rei Onishi served in the same role for Jerry Brown. Shubhra Shivpuri has worked in the U.S. and California Departments of Justice. Kelli Evans, formerly with the California Department of Justice and State Bar, will oversee criminal justice issues.