Luis Céspedes

Gov. Gavin Newsom has long committed his administration to maximizing the diversity of the California judiciary. People who know Céspedes say the governor’s selection of the respected Sacramento lawyer and activist as his judicial appointments secretary was the perfect choice to further that commitment.

“We know where the governor’s sentiments lie,” said Dennis Mangers, a former assemblyman and lobbyist. “Choosing Luis Céspedes signals how serious he is about it.”

When Céspedes was appointed in December, Sacramento Superior Court Presiding Judge Russell L. Hom said in a statement that he “has demonstrated a consistent commitment to diversity and inclusion” and “has worked to improve the legal profession and the judiciary” over his long career.

Céspedes declined to be interviewed for this feature. An article about him when the Sacramento County Bar Association named him its 2018 Distinguished Attorney of the Year describes some highlights of his life. He was arrested at 15 as a farmworker while marching with Cesar Chavez. A lawyer he heard speak then inspired him to become one himself.

After college, he worked in the state Assembly as a consultant and aide to a legislator, then earned a JD from UC Berkeley in 1980 and a master’s degree in urban studies from Occidental College in 1981. He returned to the Assembly for a year before opening his law office in Sacramento in 1982.

Over the next 38 years, his practice focused on civil rights, employment discrimination, post-conviction relief and immigration, according to Sacramento Superior Court Judge George Acero.

Céspedes was very active in bar groups and in the Sacramento community generally. He and Acero worked together on a city task force to assist undocumented immigrant in 2017, which led to a permanent program later.

He also was a driving force behind the 1987 formation of a coalition of local affinity bar associations known as the Unity Bar. It sponsors annual events and serves as a vehicle for associations’ leaders to work on problems together.

To see how Céspedes will do as judicial appointments secretary, one need only look at Newsom’s picks this year, said Acero, who was one of them. For example, a majority of the 41 bench officers he announced in March and July are women and people of color.

“I think we can feel confident that Luis is going to make sure the bench reflects the community it serves,” Acero said.

— Don DeBenedictis