Gavin Newsom appoints first openly gay, third Black man for California Supreme Court
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday he nominated Martin J. Jenkins as the first openly gay and third Black man to serve as a justice on the California Supreme Court.
Jenkins, 66 and a Bay Area native, has decades of experience working in California’s state and federal courts and criminal justice system.
He retired as an associate justice of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District last year, when he began working with Newsom’s administration as the judicial appointments secretary with the goal to enhance diversity on the state’s benches.
He will fill the vacancy left by Justice Ming W. Chin, who retired at the end of August after a 24-year tenure.
Announcing the appointment, Newsom said Jenkins had built a reputation of “fortitude and fairness” and is a “man of inner strength, grace and compassion.”
“Justice Martin Jenkins has the right experience at the right time in our state’s history,” Newsom said.
Jenkins graduated from Santa Clara University in 1977 and earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco. He spent what the governor’s office said was a “brief” time as a Seattle Seahawks pro football player after college.
His began his career as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, and the moved to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, where he prosecuted police misconduct and racial violence cases like cross burnings as a trial attorney. His career also includes judgeships with the Alameda County Superior Court and the Oakland Municipal Court.
He served as a United States District Court for the Northern District of California judge from 1997 to 2008 under former President Bill Clinton’s appointment. With his confirmation, Jenkins will become the first Black man in nearly 30 years to serve on the state’s highest court.
Speaking to young people who might be struggling with their identities, Jenkins said he has also faced challenges as a gay man. He said he was “not here in spite of the struggle,” but “because of the struggle.”
“I want these young people to know, that living a life of authenticity is the greatest gift you can give yourself,” Jenkins said. “If you do that, you too will find yourself in a position where people see you, really see you and who you are, your authentic self.”
He also thanked the two previous Black male justices — Wiley Manuel and Allen Broussard — for helping pave the way for his nomination.
“I understand it’s been 29 years since an African-American man has served on the high court,” he said before accepting the nomination. “I would not be here today without the support and mentorship of both of those men.”
Jenkins, a Democrat, must be confirmed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal J. Anthony Kline, who make up the state’s Commission on Judicial Appointments.
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 12:00 PM.