Newsom Will Look for ‘Humility,’ Above All, in Appointing Judges

Monday, April 22, 2019

Page 1

Newsom Will Look for ‘Humility,’ Above All, in Appointing Judges

By a MetNews Staff Writer

The “top quality” Gov. Gavin Newsom will seek in the judges he appoints will be “humility,” his legal affairs secretary, Martin Jenkins, has related.

In his first public address since stepping down in January from his post as a justice of the First District Court of Appeal to assume the position of an advisor to the governor on judicial appointments, he told those attending a Los Angeles County Bar Association reception for new judges Thursday night that “humility anchors all those other qualities” desired in judges.

He said Newsom, in a conversation with him, listed intellect, integrity and courage as being among those other qualities. The former jurist, whose father was a janitor, remarked that he agrees that humility—which he said includes the ability “to listen”—is the most important attribute to look for in applicants for judgeship.

Newsom’s father, William Newsom, who died Dec. 12, was a justice if the First District Court of Appeal from 1978-95.

Jenkins, who was a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for 11 years before going on the state Court of Appeal in 2008, said he is the first legal affairs secretary in a Democratic administration that has followed a Democratic administration. In the past, he related, records relating to judicial appointments and applications were destroyed when a Democratic governor came into office.

His predecessor, Josh Groban (now a justice of the California Supreme Court), left behind a “primer” on selecting judges, he noted.