California’s chief justice says she won’t seek re-election, will step down after 12 years
California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye announced on Wednesday she would not seek re-election after 12 years of leading the state’s judicial branch.
The Sacramento native and McClatchy High School graduate, who worked in every level of the state courts for 32 years, said she will step down as chief justice when her 12-year term ends on Jan. 1. She is the first person of color and the second woman to serve as California’s chief justice.
“I have said before that I hold my office in trust until it is time for the next leaders to protect and expand access to justice — that time is now,” Cantil-Sakauye said in a written statement.
The chief justice and the six associate justices on the California Supreme Court are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments to a 12-year term, meaning Cantil-Sakauye would have had to run for re-election in November to stay in office.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice in 2010. She was confirmed and sworn in as the 28th Chief Justice of California in January 2011.
In 2018, Cantil-Sakauye announced she left the Republican Party. She said she had strong concerns about the state of the GOP after watching U.S. Senate hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused by several women of sexual misconduct before being confirmed to a lifetime position on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Newsom gets chance to pick new chief justice
Her decision to not seek re-election means Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will get the chance to nominate her successor to lead the policies of the state Supreme Court.
“And, of course, I will support the smooth transition of Judicial Branch leadership,” Cantil-Sakauye said in her announcement Wednesday. “Through (Newsom’s) efforts, and those of recent governors, he will have a diverse pool of exceptionally well qualified jurists and legal professionals to choose from, and I believe the judiciary, the courts, and access to justice in California will be in good hands.”
Cantil-Sakauye has credited her upbringing and community as the driving force behind her public service. Her Filipino-Portuguese father grew up working the sugar and pineapple plantations of Hawaii and her Filipino mother sorted tomatoes and picked figs in California’s Central Valley. Her parents went on to support their four children with jobs as an instrument repairman at McClellan Air Force Base and an executive secretary for the state Department of Corrections.
“My first interaction with our justice system was when my family faced eviction from our home and my mother felt helpless. As the daughter of farmworkers, I experienced in my community what it was like to stand up for your rights and demand protections,” she said in her announcement. “As a wife, I felt the impact of unjust Japanese Internment on my in-laws.”
Her husband, Mark Sakauye, and his parents were interned during World War II.
College and law career
Cantil-Sakauye attended Sacramento City College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, before graduating from UC Davis. She said the support and encouragement of her family and her extended Filipino family, along with minority bar associations and numerous role models and mentors enabled her to succeed even under sometimes difficult circumstances.
“A graduate of a public school, community college, and public university, I am proud to have served the people of California to the best of my ability at every level of our state court system,” she said.
In 1984, she worked as a deputy district attorney in Sacramento County, followed by two years on Gov. George Deukmejian’s senior staff in 1988. She went on to serve as a judge in Sacramento Municipal Court in 1990, Sacramento Superior Court judge in 1997 and as associate justice on the Court of Appeal’s Third Appellate District in Sacramento.
“As a judge I saw the devastating effects of family violence and established the first court in Sacramento dedicated solely to domestic violence issues,” she said in her statement. “As Chief Justice, I continue to keep in mind the faces behind the cases and remain focused on the goal of providing all Californians with equal, fair and accessible justice.”
She said her term as chief justice was “bookended” by the Great Recession and the persisting difficulties of a global pandemic. She successfully advocated for reforms on court funding, fees and procedures that unfairly affected the poor, along with adequate and sustainable court funding, court officials said in the news release announcing her decision Wednesday.
Cantil-Sakauye also fought for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, along with civic education and engagement in sustaining public trust in the judicial system.
In 2017, she fought with President Donald Trump’s administration over immigration enforcement, asking then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop immigration agents from “stalking undocumented immigrants” at California courthouses.
“Each generation must renew and refresh our constitutional democracy,” Cantil-Sakauye said in her statement. “I truly appreciate the opportunities previous governors, judicial branch leadership, and the People of California have given me to support, defend, and enhance the rule of law.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 2:04 PM.
