Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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More Than One-Third of Judges Appointed During Schwarzenegger’s Tenure Were Women, Data Shows
By a MetNews Staff Writer
More than one-third of all judges appointed by now-former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more than 40 percent of those appointed last year, were women, data released by the administration shows.
The data, released Friday as required by Government Code Sec. 12011.5(n), showed that women made up 40.6 percent of the judges appointed last year and 34.3 percent of those appointed since the former actor became governor in 2003. Women made up 34 percent of State Bar membership in January 2006, when the administration began compiling the data required by the statute, the Governor’s Office noted.
Overall, the data indicated an increase in the representation of females and minorities among those considered for judicial appointments by Schwarzenegger despite a marked decrease in the racial diversity of the applicant pool.
Schwarzenegger remarked in a statement accompanying the release that his administration “has worked to ensure that highly qualified people sit on our court’s benches”and that he was “proud” to have “contributed to the diversity of California’s courts.”
According to the figured releases Friday, 8 percent of 2010 judicial appointees were Asian, 11.6 percent were Black or African American, 13 percent were Hispanic, 60 percent were White and 3.6 percent were “other” or “unknown.”
Applications from women represented 41.6 percent of the total applicant pool, up from 34.22 percent last year.
Schwarzenegger’s office also indicated that only 19 percent of the 238 applicants in 2010 were minorities, as compared to 33 percent in 2009. Just over 25 percent of applicants in 2008 were minorities, down from 31 percent in 2007 and 29 percent in 2006.
Females made up 34.3 percent of Schwarzenegger’s appointments during his administration, while Asians made up 7.5 percent—compared to 5.3 percent of the State Bar—Blacks or African-Americans made up 8.1 percent—compared to 1.7 percent of the State Bar—Hispanics made up 10.8 percent—while 3.8 percent of the State Bar—Whites or Caucasians made up 64 percent—compared to 84 percent of the State Bar—and “other/unknown” made up 8.8 percent of the judicial appointees and 4.4 percent of the State Bar.
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