Outgoing chief justice, a trailblazer in California courts, says more barriers need to be broken
California’s retiring chief justice has equity in courts on her mind as she winds down her legal career.
Tani Cantil-Sakauye has concerns about how Californians access legal aid; how a diverse Golden State residents are represented on the bench, in the courtroom and on the attorney’s bar and whether cash bail can mean equal justice.
In a final media call Wednesday before she retires in January to lead the Public Policy Institute of California, Cantil-Sakauye spoke less about her departure and more about the work left to be done.
For Cantil-Sakauye, the former Sacramento Superior Court and state appellate judge nearing the end of her history-making 12-year run, the issues are intertwined.
From expanding the public’s access to court facilities to ensuring equal access to the courts for Californians with limited English skills to her objection to federal immigration enforcement at California courthouses, equity has been a central part of Cantil-Sakauye’s legacy.
On cash bail: “Bail is in a constant state of change. We all understand bail is changing, but I don’t think the conversation is ended,” the chief justice said.
Cantil-Sakauye has long advocated for an end to cash bail, calling the cash bail system “outdated, unsafe and unfair,” saying the system favors those with financial resources to buy their freedom over other defendants unable to make bail. She called instead for judges’ review and pretrial assessments to determine whether defendants were threats to public safety or whether they would make their court dates while out of custody.
She later mandated zero bail for lower-level offenders to curb jailhouse COVID-19 cases during the height of the pandemic. The mandate met with fierce opposition from law enforcement and California prosecutors.
A disappointed Cantil-Sakauye on Wednesday lamented rejected efforts to reform the state’s cash bail system. Voters in 2020 overturned a 2018 law eliminating money bail.
A slimmed-down and amended reform bill died in the Assembly in September.
Can courts keep up with threats to voting rights?
Cantil-Sakauye’s concerns as she departs extend to states’ courts and efforts to use the courts to thwart voting rights and other protections.
“I worry that we’re not developing the rule of law,” the chief justice told reporters. “I worry that states will be the proving grounds where some very dark money can influence litigation — where (groups) are looking to direct voting rights law or tort laws if the courts become more of a political bullseye.”
On the justice gap: “We didn’t move the ball.”
The ‘justice gap’ between Californians’ legal needs and the resources available to meet those needs is “firmly rooted in racial and gender equity,” she said. Her frank assessment is borne out in a 2019 study by The State Bar of California. It found:
▪ Fewer than 1 in 3 Californians sought legal assistance to address their problems.
▪ Even when experiencing problems that have a significant impact on them, most do not receive legal help: 27% of low-income Californians received some legal help, while 34% of middle-income individuals did.
The chief justice called on the same state bar to better reflect all of California in its membership. “The State Bar has historically been male, has historically been Caucasian,” she said. “It’s not the model of an organization that it could be.”
Women a majority on California Supreme Court
Cantil-Sakauye has seen that disparity up close. She was the first Filipino American, first person of color and just the second woman to serve as California chief justice when she was appointed to the position by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.
But progress is plain on the state’s high court where four female justices now sit — a majority on the seven-member panel. State Associate Justice Patricia Guerrero was confirmed California’s 29th Chief Justice in September. Appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Guerrero is the first Latina to serve as chief justice.
Guerrero had previously been the first Latina to serve as an associate justice. Newsom appointed former Alameda Superior Court Judge Kelli Evans to fill Guerrero’s associate seat. They are joined in the majority by associate justices Carol A. Corrigan and Leondra R. Kruger.
“There are states nowhere near California in terms of gender, age and cultural diversity. I told Gov. Newsom, ‘Thank you for restoring a female majority,’ “ the chief justice quipped. “I was joking, but it does have a different collegiality when there are four female justices. Female justices on state supreme courts are very rare indeed.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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