Martin Jenkins confirmed to state Supreme Court

The Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Martin J. Jenkins as a state Supreme Court justice during a Tuesday hearing that featured an emotional tribute to his family and partner.

Jenkins, who is turning 67 on Thursday, will be the first openly gay justice on the court when he is sworn in sometime next month.

"The one thing that eluded me was a relationship because of the hard time I had accepting who I was," Jenkins said in an emotional speech after he was confirmed.

"Now I understand what people in loving, caring relationships actually have," he added.

Jenkins was approved easily by the commission, which includes Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and 1st District Court of Appeal Justice J. Anthony Kline.

Appointed last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Jenkins, who is Black, brings to his job three decades of experience as a state and federal judge, a sharp contrast to the justices appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown who did not rise through the judicial ranks.

He has been serving as Newsom's judicial appointments secretary and was asked by Cantil-Sakauye why he decided to take the position after retiring from the 1st District Court of Appeal last year.

Jenkins said the appointment was Newsom's idea. "He told me he was a little concerned because it took me four days to get back to him," the justice said.

"I felt I could add a voice," Jenkins added. "Being a man of faith, I felt this was a calling, and I never have refused a call to serve."

Jenkins credited Ann O'Leary, Newsom's chief of staff, and Joseph W. Cotchett, a partner with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP, as two of his biggest supporters in getting the job.

He will replace Justice Ming W. Chin, who retired Aug. 31, on the seven-member court.

Jenkins spoke of accepting the job during a Zoom call with Newsom while he was in San Francisco and gazing over the City Hall rotunda to see the hospital where he and his two siblings were born.

"I had the rare opportunity that most people don't get -- to see how far I'd come," he said.

A San Francisco native, Jenkins graduated from Santa Clara University, where he was a star defensive back on the football team. He played professionally with the Seattle Seahawks, then attended University of San Francisco Law School.

Early in his career, Jenkins worked at the Alameda County district attorney's office and in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

He later worked as in-house counsel to Pacific Bell Telephone Co. for four years before starting his judicial career.

Gov. George Deukmejian appointed Jenkins to Alameda County Municipal Court in 1987 and Gov. Pete Wilson elevated him to the superior court in 1992.

President Bill Clinton nominated Jenkins to the federal bench in 1997, and he served there for a little over a decade before stepping down.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger then appointed him to the 1st District Court of Appeal in 2008.

Speaking of his long years of experience as a state municipal, superior and appellate judge, as well as a federal judge, Jenkins told Becerra that "should give you great confidence."

Referring to tumult in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis this summer, Jenkins signaled the state Supreme Court will consider challenges based on alleged racial bias in jury selection.

He specifically mentioned the U.S. Supreme Court case of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) and a California Supreme Court decision, People v. Wheeler, 22 Cal. 3rd 258 (1979).

Jenkins also mentioned climate issues that may come before the court. "The Supreme Court's guidance will be necessary," he said.

The State Bar Committee on Judicial Nominees Evaluation rated Jenkins as "exceptionally well qualified."

Jenkins was introduced by Adrionne Beasley, a pastor and friend; 1st District Court of Appeal Justice William D. McGuinness; and Senior U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson.

A swearing-in date has not been set for Jenkins in December, but pro tem justices will serve during oral arguments that month, a court spokesperson said.