Gov. Gavin Newsom picks Patricia Guerrero as 1st Latina state Supreme Court chief justice
Note that the California legislature does not confirm CA Supreme Court nominees. Only a Commission on Judicial Appointments, which verifies that the nominee is qualified.
Then there will be a statewide retention election for a full 12-year term. That’s it.
Also of interest, the CA Supreme Court is currently 5 Democratic appointees, 1 Republican appointee, and 1 "no party preference" (NPP) (which effectively means an independent).
After January when the current Chief Justice retires and Patricia Guerrero becomes the new Chief Justice. Then Gov. Newsom will have another Supreme Court vacancy to fill (and Newsom has already said it will be an LGBT member).
At that point, the California Supreme Court will be 6 D & 1 R.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday nominated Patricia Guerrero to be the state's next chief justice, picking the daughter of Mexican immigrants to lead the nation's largest judicial system.
Guerrero, 50, would replace Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who will step down once her term ends in January.
Guerrero made history earlier this year when she was the first Latina confirmed to the California Supreme Court. Now she's poised to do it again as the first Latina to lead the state's sprawling court system that includes about 2,175 judges across 58 trial courts and 105 justices on the Courts of Appeal.
abc7.com/...